The Line
by PurpleRanger101
Summary: The Ellimist decides to give the survivors of the Yeerk War the chance to change one decision they made in the war. One decision but a choice that could change everything. They know the outcome they want...they just don't know how to get there.
1. The Offer

**I CAN GIVE YOU ONE DO-OVER. ONE DO-OVER AND IT ALL CHANGES. CHOOSE CAREFULLY AND KNOW THAT WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE WILL MAKE DIFFERENCES. MAKE ONE CHANGE AND EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE AFTER THAT. WHAT IS YOUR DECISION?**

I looked at Cassie. I looked at Jake. We all knew the one decision we would like to change. The one thing we would like to undo.

"I don't know how to do it." Jake whispered. Jake looked up at the sky. "Ellimist, can you give us a day or so to think about it? Try and get in touch with Ax and Tobias?"

**I CAN GIVE YOU THREE HOURS. MAKE A DECISION AND I WILL RETURN.**

And with that, the Almighty Ellimist, Mr. I'm-Going-to-Play-God-but-Tell-You-I'm-Not-Going-to-Interfere was gone. "So, guys? What do we do? What decision are we going to change that will bring her back? And the Auxiliary Animorphs? Come on, Big Jake, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Marco. I thought I was done being the leader. I thought I'd made enough mistakes already. How do I pick one decision that will change the course of history?" Jake laid his head in his hands and sighed.

"Let's just get Ax and Tobias here and then we'll talk." Cassie suggested, ever the peacemaker. She avoided looking at Jake. Obviously, those two hadn't quite gotten over their differences yet.

"Fine. Do you even know how to find Tobias, Cassie?" I asked sarcastically. "Bird-boy hasn't exactly been a regular guest at the dinner table, you know."

"I can get Tobias. Jake, can you get Ax here?" Cassie asked, ignoring me. As usual. Jake nodded. Cassie took a deep breath and added, "Why don't we meet at my barn in two hours? Like old times."

I answered for myself and for Jake. "We'll be there, Cassie. You just make sure Tobias is there, too." Cassie smiled sadly and took off.

Anyway, while Jake goes off to get his Z-space communicator, let me introduce myself. My name is Marco. Used to be just Marco. Might have to be again, depending on what decision we make. But for now, it's Marco Santoni. Yep, I just told you my last name. Go figure. My friends and I are the Animorphs and we just finished fighting a war. We won! But not without sacrifices. Jake's parents and his brother Tom. All the Auxiliary Animorphs. Rachel. Now, with the help of the Ellimist, we were going to be given the chance to change all that.

I'm not a real moralizing guy. I can see the line from point A to point B and I take it. I don't worry about how difficult it might be to accomplish or what morals we might compromise because of it. I just do it. And I'd already seen at least one crossroads, one point in time we could change to make things different. But there was a risk, there was always a risk. What would happen if we changed something? Would the Yeerks have won? Would they still be here? Would we still be fighting? And, knowing everything we know now, would we fight any differently? Those were questions we would have to think about.

Jake came back right then, his eyes shadowed, with the communicator in his hand. Jake used to be a happy-go-lucky kid until things in the war against the Yeerks came to a head. He used to know when to let loose, even after a big battle. But now he carried the weight of all the dead on his shoulders. His brother. General Doubleday and his troops. Rachel. Always, always Rachel.

"Ax? Hey, Ax, it's Jake. We need you, buddy." Jake had set up his transmitter and was trying to contact Ax's Dome Ship.

A few seconds later, Ax's Andalite face came into view. ((Prince Jake! Marco! I was not expecting a call from you. What is going on))

Jake didn't even tell Ax not to call him Prince. He just told him straight-up what the Ellimist was offering. Ax said he'd be at Cassie's barn and cut the connection.

Two hours later we walked into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and instantly, I was ambushed by memories so vivid I felt as if I was living in the past again. That first time I'd seen anyone morph, when Cassie had morphed the horse. Lounging on hay bales doing homework. Teasing Rachel. Ax sick with his Tria gland thing. Mean Rachel and Nice Rachel. Rachel. Rachel. Rachel. Always it came back to Rachel. She was the casualty of this war, more so than any of us. Of course she was, she was dead, wasn't she? And that would be the decision that we would make, I was sure of it. We would choose to change something and save her. How could we do any less?

Cassie and Ax were already there, Cassie cleaning out some cages and Ax standing anxiously near the door. I'd forgotten how much the Ax-man had changed. In two years, since the fall of the Yeerks on Earth, he'd become a War Prince and now looked much like his brother, Elfangor. A Shredder hung across his chest and his tail blade was poised, ready for action. Tobias-oh, Tobias, whom I hadn't seen in two years, not since Rachel's funeral-perched in the rafters, refusing to look at any of us. His once vibrantly red tail was now starting to fade. He was getting old.

No one spoke. Jake looked reluctant to take the lead and everyone else was obviously waiting for him to do just that. So I spoke up. "Well, guys, let's get this over with. We all made choices we wouldn't have wanted to in the war. We all did stuff that didn't sit well. Boo-hoo. Tobias, you can't hate Jake for the choice Rachel made. And Cassie, you can't hold Jake's decisions in the last days against him. Let's all be friends. One big happy family." I added the last sentence sarcastically but deep down, I wanted nothing more than for it to be true.

((I don't blame Jake.)) was all Tobias said.

"Bull. You do and you know it. And until we get that out of the way, nothing's going to get done. So yell at him, cuss him out, do whatever you need to, Bird-boy, so we can get this show on the road, please." I was exasperated. Why couldn't we just go back to the old days where Jake was the silent leader, Tobias would keep watch, Cassie would interject moral questions, Ax talked about how Andalites were vastly superior to humans except in the food industry, I would be cracking some very hilarious jokes and Rachel…well, Rachel would be very anxious to get to some butt-kicking. But now there was just an awkward silence before Tobias spoke.

((How could you, Jake? You knew she would die. You knew there was no way she'd get off that Blade ship and you sent her anyway. Your own cousin…you sent her to die.)) There was a sort of sobbing noise and then Tobias' thought-speak exploded into shouting. ((WHY DIDN'T YOU GO YOURSELF, JAKE??? WHY SEND SOMEONE ELSE TO DO YOUR DIRTY WORK??)) Tobias fell silent. No one spoke for a moment.

Then Jake said quietly. "I don't know man. I can't explain my decisions, only that they felt right at the time. I would do anything to bring her back and here's our chance. So let's just figure out a plan and be ready for the Ellimist when he returns.

Tobias didn't respond but Jake looked at me. "Marco, I assume you already have an idea?"

Me? Why should I be the one with an idea? Because I'm Marco the Magnificent? No…because I see that addicting line. That line that makes my life hell. Lucky me.


	2. The Decision

"Well, the war started to go badly in my opinion at the point where Tom got the morphing cube. Right? So we keep that from happening. We get him and starve the Yeerk out. Tom probably knows all sorts of inside information too. So maybe we get our families out sooner and take Tom as well. That could work." I wasn't sure what decision exactly that was reversing but figured it was a start, a good suggestion. I had another one too. "Or we change the decision when Ax had Alloran in that field and we kill Alloran. Take out Visser Three. Without him, who knows what a difference that might have made? We might could have changed the entire war."

((We need to think this over carefully, Prince Jake. We will only get the chance to reverse one decision. Make one change. We must consider how it will affect the rest of the war.)) Ax's calm tone was prevalent even in thought-speak.

"I know. Don't you think I know that? I made so many bad decisions in the war, so many choices that I bungled…don't you know how that haunts me even now, two years later? I think…our only option is to do as Marco suggested. We start there, with Tom's Yeerk, and just change things from there on. Make different decisions. I really don't see one choice that we made that we could change. One point. I think it's more a knowledge of how the rest of the war turned out. We could make more Animorphs sooner. We don't let the Yeerks get the morphing cube. Everyone? Opinions?" Jake didn't mention it but I knew, as soon as he said 'we don't let the Yeerks get the morphing cube', I knew what he was getting at. He was giving his and Cassie's relationship another chance. Everyone knew that they had fallen apart when Cassie let Tom take the cube. Jake was hoping for a second chance. Even I thought that was sweet. Mushy, but sweet.

((And we don't send Animorphs to die needlessly. Right, Jake?)) Tobias' words were harsh and his gaze penetrating as he finally fixed his hawk eyes on Jake. Jake simply nodded.

((I follow Prince Jake.)) Ax gave the answer he always gave. I rolled my eyes. Stupid Andalite.

"It could work." Cassie said carefully. "But how do we know we won't lose if we change that? How can we know?"

"Easy." I said, laughing. "We ask the Ellimist."

Jake took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Ellimist? We've got a question about your offer."

Instantly, time seemed to freeze. The animals in the cages didn't move. Nothing moved. Except for us. Suddenly, an old man walked through the door of the barn. Of course, it wasn't really an old man…no, it was the Ellimist, appearing in a form he'd appeared in before. _He's here!_, I thought to myself and laughed.

"You have made a decision, then?" the Ellimist asked, smiling kindly.

"Sort of. We want to know, before we choose, if the outcome of the war might be any different? Will we lose if we change the past?" Jake asked.

"No. The outcome will not change. Crayak has agreed. We won this round. No matter what choice you make, you will still defeat the Yeerks. How many of you survive…that's another matter entirely. The events leading up to your victory will be different. You might all survive. You might not. It really depends on you. But rest assured, you will still beat the Yeerks. That is certain."

"Great. Let's do it!" I yelled, in a parody of Rachel's usual battle cry. Tobias glared at me. I shrugged my shoulders. Let Bird-boy sulk. Life was a party.

"You have made your choice?" the Ellimist asked.

Cassie had one more question before we said yes, apparently. "What if this outcome is worse than the one we are already in? What if more of us die or what if half the human population is killed? What then?"

The Ellimist smiled. "That is why this is merely an option. I cannot do anything for you if you accept. There will be no third chance, not unless Crayak agrees to it. Your time is running out. What is your decision?"

Jake looked at me. I nodded. He looked at Cassie. She sighed and gave a slight nod of her head, looking as if this might be a bad decision but she was going to go along with it. Jake glanced at Tobias. Tobias didn't move.

"Tobias? You in or out, man?" Jake asked.

((Just one more thing, Ellimist.)) Tobias said. ((Will we have all the knowledge we have now or will we be just as we were then?))

"Your minds you have now will reside in the bodies of that time." The Ellimist replied. How's that for cryptic?

((Then I'm in.)) Tobias declared.

Jake glanced at the resident alien. _Ten bucks says he says he does as Prince Jake does_, I quickly bet myself. ((I will do as Prince Jake does.)) Ax said quietly. _Ka-ching!_

"Then we have decided," Jake said confidently. "We want to return to right after contacted the Andalites after we rescued Marco's mom. Take us to that spot."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the room began to spin…and spin…and spin. Suddenly, we were in the woods, leaning over a small communicator. Jake stood off to the side. Ax was closest to the device. Tobias was somewhere above us. Cassie stood next to Jake…and Rachel stood behind Ax. Rachel. Rachel, Xena, Warrior-Princess, was back. She was looking at us as if we were ghosts.

((Jake, buddy, we're going to have to figure this out later, we've got Bug fighters on approach! Get out of there!)) Tobias' voice was panicked. Now was the time to retreat, not to ask questions.


	3. The Regroup

"Ax! Grab the transponder and let's haul butt!" Jake yelled, racing off.

Rachel looked completely lost and just stood there at a loss. I grabbed her hand and pulled her after me. Cassie was running beside us and I could hear Ax's hooves behind.

((Ax-man! Hork-Bajir to your left!)) Tobias called from above us. I glanced up and saw a hawk wheeling around in the air.

FWAP!! FWAP!! ((They are gone.)) Ax replied. We kept running.

"I don't know what's going on but let's morph! We can kick their butts!" Rachel. Of course. She was back, all right.

"Tobias, tell us when we're clear! We need wings!" I called, knowing he'd hear me. Hawk hearing is some of the best around.

A few moments later, his voice filled my head. ((You're clear as long as you do it quickly. Jake's already in the air.))

I released Rachel's hand and focused on the osprey DNA inside me. Cassie was already half-bird by the time the first changes happened to me. Seconds later, two ospreys, a harrier and a bald eagle joined the hawk and falcon already in the air. We winged our way back to Cassie's barn. No one said a word.

When we got there, everyone started to demorph. Tobias took a quick look around and declared that no one was watching us. Then he swooped to the ground and began to morph. The rest of us were standing there watching as Tobias finished his morph into his human body. After that, like in some cheesy chick flick, he strode over to Rachel, took her face in his hands and kissed her soundly. Her eyes widened but then she was kissing him back, her hands going around his neck. I looked at Jake and Cassie, finding them hugging happily.

"O-kay, o-kay!" I exclaimed loudly. "Enough mushy crap. Let's get down to business." Rachel and Tobias kept eating each other's faces. "Bird-boy! Xena! Your lips work! Move on!"

They broke apart, Tobias grinning like an idiot. His voice raspy, he whispered. "I've missed you."

Rachel looked confused. "I died. I know I did. How did I get here? What's going on?"

Jake took the lead, a large grin splitting his face, too. "Yeah, ok. Rachel, what's the last thing you remember?"

Rachel walked over to a hay bale and sat. "Tobias was crying. I bit…I killed Tom. The polar bear's paw. I died. I saw the Ellimist…Toomin. He told me his story-so sad. He said I mattered, that my life counted. Then, all of a sudden, I found myself in the woods with you guys. Guy's, what's going down?"

"We won, Rachel. We lost you but we won. It's been two years since that last battle in the Pool Ship. Visser One was put on trial for war crimes. Andalites visit Earth now all the time. The Taxxons are giant anacondas." Cassie smiled sadly. "The only problem was you weren't there to celebrate it with us."

"So why am I resurrected from the dead?" Rachel asked again, more impatiently.

"'Cause Xena doesn't die, duh." I joked. Yep, the good ole' days were back.

"Shut up, Marco. Even after death, you're not funny."

Jake took over the explanation from there. "The Ellimist came to us a couple of hours ago and said that we could choose one point in the war and change it. We could go back to one point and change the events that happened after that. He said that we would still beat the Yeerks but he was giving us a chance to make a better ending. One where you survived."

Rachel nodded. "Cool. So what are we going to do?"

((Prince Jake, I have thought of something.)) Ax spoke up quietly. ((What if we were to try and get to Captain Plummer of the _George Washington _sooner? Keep him from getting infested, keep all of that from happening. Perhaps that would be a good starting place.))

I saw the decision warring on Jake's face. He wanted to save Tom, save his family for sure but he wasn't certain about what choices to make. He wasn't certain which choice would be the right one.

So I took the decision out of his hands. "Look, we've got some time before they figure out we're humans, right? So let's get out to the aircraft carrier, talk with Plummer and pull our families out when we get back."

Jake nodded slowly. "Ok, Marco, Ax. We do it your way. But this time…no one dies. That's an order."

I tried to laugh but I couldn't. Sometimes I just don't like the line…the line that told me that it might not be possible to change the outcome this time.

**Author's Note: It's been a long time on this one but I hope you like this chapter! I'm not sure where it's gonna end up going but it'll be an interesting ride getting there, that's for sure! Please read and review. Plus, if you're a **_**Power Rangers **_**fan, hop on over and check out my Power Ranger fanfictions! **_**Sacrifice, Bound**_** and **_**In a Heartbeat**_** are really exciting with lots of death—if that's your thing. Or if you like Sue Thomas F., check out my stories about that team! And then there's my **_**Twilight**_** fanfiction, called **_**Battle of Destiny**_**—my version of how the last battle in **_**Breaking Dawn**_** should have ended. Thanks for reading my Animorphs fanfiction and I hope you enjoy the ride!**

**Michelle**


	4. The Plan

"This may not be the best idea, big Jake." I sat on a hay bale and looked at my best friend. We were the only two still in the barn since everyone had left to get ready for the mission. Rachel had wanted to see her family and so Cassie had gone with her, just to make sure nothing weird happened. At least nothing weirder than a dead girl coming back to life and visiting her family who didn't know she had died. Just another normal day in the life of an Animorph. Ax and Tobias had left to go to his scoop, planning to use Ax's computer to see where the _George Washington_ was now. And I'd been mulling over this decision because suddenly the line wasn't straight. It was crooked. Something didn't make sense.

Jake took a piece of hay and twirled it in his fingers as he looked at me. "What do you mean? This was your idea, Marco. You can't get cold feet now."

Slowly, I shook my head. I was still trying to figure out the problem while I told Jake there was one. "No, this wasn't my idea. My idea was to get Rachel back before Tom gets the morphing cube and all that. Ax was the one who came up with this idea. But I don't see the impact it will make on the overall picture. Sure, it would avoid a world war and I'm all for that, but there's more we could do now to end the war faster than just getting to Plummer."

He sighed. Nothing had changed, really, since Rachel came back. My best friend was glad she was back but he saw it as his duty to keep everyone alive now. Whereas the old Jake would have sacrificed his own cousin to win, this Jake would sacrifice the war and Earth to save his team. And that could be costly. I'd have to keep an eye on him, judge his mental stability. Man, I hate being the responsible one.

"What do you suggest we do, Marco?" Even his voice was wary.

"My plan? It's insane. It's crazy. It's genius. And it'll work." I stood and started to pace around the barn, then stopped and looked at Jake. "Three-fold. Tom's Yeerk. Our families. Doubleday. Bam, bam, bam. And badda-bing, badda-boom, we got allies. We've got my mom now and once we have Tom, we'll have two ex-Controllers who will know stuff about the Yeerks. And Tom knows Visser Three. And we'll have General Doubleday." I paused, thinking, then revised my plan. "We might have to go to the Governor first, before Doubleday. He might not be so willing to help us without authorization. But we can do that, no problem. And I say we go ahead with Auxiliary Animorphs. The sooner we get them, the better. Plummer's not going to make a difference. This will." How did I know that? The line. It all came down to the line. Now the line was straight.

Jake nodded thoughtfully. "What's your exact plan, Marco? I know you have one."

"We get our families out first, starting with yours. Take them to the Hork-Bajir camp and hold Tom. He can't morph like you could so we should be able to put Jara Hamee or Toby and a few other salad shooters in charge of him and starve out the Yeerk. Rachel's family, Cassie's parents and Loren. I say we still give Loren the morphing power, but that's not my call to make. Then, while we're starving Tom's Yeerk out, we get to James and the others. Get them in on this."

"Wait a second," Jake interrupted, "do you think James and them remember? They were dead when the Ellimist twisted time. Do you think they will remember everything?"

"No. I think it was just us six. We remember but no one else does. We'll have to start from scratch there. And after we get some of them, we go to the Governor and Doubleday. Once we have the Governor, we might can get the President. Maybe, though that's a dim possibility. And Doubleday will have better ways of contacting Plummer to warn him of the Admiral. This can work, Jake. You know it can."

Just then, Tobias swooped through the window into the barn and perched on a rafter. ((Ax is coming. We've got your answers. We know right where the _GW_ is and when she's supposed to put into port next.))

He must have seen the knowing look I gave Jake – sometimes, even I forget about Bird-boy's crazy eyes – because his thought-speak grew suspicious.

((What's going on? What did we miss? Has something happened?))

Ax clopped into the barn as Tobias' gaze turned to burn into me and he cocked his head slightly, twisting one stalk eye to look up at Tobias and his other three eyes focused on me and Jake. ((Have I missed something, Prince Jake?))

I still couldn't see Ax as the little aristh again, back to being the kid who freaked out at cinnamon buns. For the past two years, at least for me, he'd been a real Andalite War-Prince, someone who gave orders rather than took them. But now, thanks to the Ellimist, he was a kid once more, even back to that annoying 'Prince Jake' crap.

"Yeah, Ax, sort of. You guys didn't see Rachel and Cassie on your way back here, did you? We've got something to talk about." Jake looked from Tobias to Ax and then at me. I could read his look. It was one of those 'I hope you know what you're doing because I sure don't' looks. I gave him one of my world-famous, girls faint over, charming grins. He wasn't impressed.

((Yes, Prince Jake, we did see two birds heading this way. One was a bald eagle. I believe they should be here shortly.))

"Don't call me Prince." Jake said absently. I almost laughed. It had been so long since Ax had called Jake prince and Jake had tried to stop him. I'd thought these days were gone for good.

A few minutes later, the two birds fluttered into the barn and landed on the straw-strewn floor. They immediately began to demorph, Cassie's wings shrinking into her body and her feathers fading away, and Rachel shooting up from the ground to be a human-sized bird.

"Eeew, gross, Xena. Didn't you learn to morph while you were dead? I mean, it's not like they have a lot to do in the afterlife? Or did you join a bridge team?" I teased. It felt good to have Rachel back if just to tease her. No one else would take my jabs and dish their own back out.

((No, Marco, I spent my time wat-)) "-ching you make a complete fool of yourself in front of every girl you met." Halfway through her rebuttal, her beak changed into a mouth, forcing her to switch from thought-speak to real speech.

"Hardy-har-har," I pretended to laugh. Then I rolled my eyes and looked up at Tobias. "You sure you want this walking magnet for disaster back, Tobias? I'm sure the Ellimist would be too happy to take her back again, if you want."

((Can it, Marco. I've got a full tank and great aim, remember?)) Tobias' silent laugh filled my head and I grinned, despite myself. I really had missed these guys – not that I'd ever admit it.

"What's up, Jake? We find out where Plummer is?" Cassie grabbed a roll of bandages and walked over to an injured deer, intent on changing the dressings on its wound.

((Tobias and I were able to find the sailing schedule of the _George Washington_. I have not heard of this George Washington before. Is he someone from _These Messages_?)) Ax. Of course.

Jake chose to ignore Ax's question and instead answer Cassie's. "We did. But Marco's got another plan, one that makes more sense. Go on, Marco. Tell them."

_Why did he make it sound like it was a dumb idea? Man, he's saving face if they don't like it_, I thought as I returned to my seat on the hay bale. _Too bad it's a great plan._ "Three phases. First, we get our families out. We start with the Berensons and get Tom. Take them all to the Hork-Bajir camp and put Tom under guard. Starve out his Yeerk. Then we get the rest of our families. We get James and the other Auxiliary Animorphs again. And finally, we go to the Governor and Doubleday. With their help, we can let the world know what's going on. Or, at the very least, we'll have military backup. And Doubleday will have a way to let Plummer what's going on."

There was silence after I finished laying out my plan. Tobias was the first to respond. ((And what about those who don't know us? Those who don't know they have a son?)) There was a defensiveness in his thought-speak and I knew at once who he was referring to.

"We get Loren out, too. She's a part of this because she's a part of you, Tobias." Everyone looked at me strangely at that so I figured I better add something else so I wouldn't sound mushy. "Plus, I don't want to listen to your weepy thought-speak for who knows how long if we don't get her out. Geez."

Tobias laughed again and his words entered my head. From the way no one else reacted, I knew he was speaking to me alone. ((Thanks, Marco. I appreciate the sentiment.))

Now it was Cassie's turn to raise a question. "Jake, once we get Tom out and your family, Visser Three will know something's up. If he's smart, he'll realize that Tom's been taken and that his family is missing too will make it more suspicious. If we're going to get all of our families out, we have to do it at the same time. Or as much as we can."

I nodded. "Good point. Aside from detail objections, does anyone actually object to my amazing plan?"

Rachel snorted. "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, runt."

"Don't let the rain in your nose, Xena." I shot back at her.

More silence as everyone stared at me. _Seriously? No one got that?_ "Because she's stuck up, she has her nose in the air!! Come on! That was the best comeback ever!" I was exasperated.

Rachel leaned over and patted me on the cheek. "Better luck next time."

I flopped backwards on the hay bale with a loud groan and twisted my head to look at Ax. "Please slice my head off. I can't take this anymore."

Jake shook his head and broke in before Ax could respond. "If we're doing this we need to do it now. So, in memory of the old days, let's vote. Tobias?"

((All of them. If we get them all out, I'm in.))

"Cassie?"

"Is there a choice? We're trying to change history. This seems like the best way to do that." Cassie shrugged. "I'm in."

"Marco?"

"It's my plan, right? How crazy would I be to say no? But it is insane. Very insane."

"Rachel?"

_Let me try this one more time,_ I thought and blurted, "She's gonna say 'let's do it'!"

Rachel grinned at me and shrugged. "Oh, all right, Marco. Let's do it!"

"Oh, yeah. She's back." I sighed and laced my fingers together behind my head. "Now we just gotta figure out how to do this."

"What do you mean, how to do this? We go and we get our families out. What's so difficult about that?" Cassie looked quite disconcerted.

Jake had seen the same flaw I'd seen and that was the fact that there simply weren't enough of us for this. "If we're gonna get them out at the same time, we can't take everyone to one house like we did last time. We gotta split up."

((So? There's enough of us for that. We each get our family. What's the big deal?)) Tobias fixed one of his gold hawk eyes on Jake.

Some people just can't see the line. I looked up at the bird. "What do you think Jake's family is going to think when he drags Tom off against his will? How do you think he's going to get Tom out without a fight? You think he can do that by himself? And you. Loren doesn't have a clue who you are, Bird-boy. She's not going to just go with you; you need the Morphing Cube. Cassie's parents probably won't pose a problem, or Rachel's, though we might need to deal with her Dad and try and get him out though that's a secondary concern. Now do you see the problem?" I asked sarcastically. Tobias didn't dignify it with a response.

"There's not enough of us for that. We've got two extras, Marco and Ax. What are we going to do?" Cassie twisted her hands together nervously as she looked at Jake. Rachel was looking at Jake, as were Tobias and Ax. Good ole' Jake, back in charge. It took me a few minutes to realize he was looking at me. I sighed. Since when was I the one with the answers?

"Erek. Toby and the Hork-Bajir. We send Toby, a couple of Hork-Bajir, maybe Ket and Jara, Erek and Ax with Jake to his house. Erek provides holograms to hide the giant aliens while Jake goes in. If Tom's not there, great. Get his family out first. Tom's there, even better. Knock him out and bring him along. At least you've got backup. Plus, Ax should be convincing enough to your family that something's going on. Problem solved. Mr. King goes with Tobias. Take the morphing cube. I'm not foreseeing a problem there, other than the obvious – she doesn't know you and she's blind. I'll go along with Tobias in case Controllers are already watching her house." I locked eyes with each of my friends in turn. "We good?"

"Best plan we've got." Jake nodded. "First stop, Erek's. Tobias, can you fly to the Valley and go ahead and talk to Toby? Let her know the deal and then we'll meet you at Ax's scoop after we get the Chee."

((Sounds good. See ya later, big Jake.)) There was a hint of affection in Tobias' thought-speak and it made me smile against my will. Things were working out. Slowly.

Cassie, Jake and I would go to the Chee while Rachel and Ax stayed behind in case something went wrong. The three of us morphed bird and took to the air, riding the thermals up and up and across town until we were above Erek's house.

We landed in the bushes and demorphed. It had been two years since we'd been on a mission and, even with our advanced knowledge, we still looked like we'd been mugged and stripped of normal clothing.

"All I'm saying is Fantastic 4. Last time we went on a mission, that movie hadn't come out yet. Now it has. We need suits like that. Not with the little number, unless it's like a six or something, but spandex uniforms would be nice." I jerked on my skintight biker shirt, trying to make it a little less skintight. Jake grinned.

"Sorry your body isn't as awesome as the rest of ours, Marco. Now shut up and let's go." Jake led the way out from behind the bushes and to the front door. Mr. King answered on the third knock. "Hey, Mr. King," Jake was trying to look like a care-free teenage boy. Not working. His body might be back to being just a sixteen-year-old kid but his mind wasn't. "Is Erek home?"

"Yes, Jake, he is. Please, come in." Mr. King ushered us into the living room and through the house. After the wonderful elevator ride of creepiness, we were in the giant dog park under the King's house.

"Jake! Marco, Cassie, hey. Did you get in touch with the Andalites?" Erek walked over to us, followed by an ugly poodle that reminded me of Euclid and a little terrier.

"Yeah but that's not why we're here. We need your help." Jake quickly outlined my plan and Erek and Mr. King agreed to help.

"Just remember that we can't do anything violent to help you. We'll provide holograms but that's it." Mr. King seemed the most wary of the plan.

"We know."

"Do you know where Tobias' mother lives? We've looked again and again and haven't been able to find any record of her. I thought Tobias didn't even know his mother." Erek cocked his head to the side questioningly and I felt the line spinning out of control unless I could do something to still the spin. After all, we didn't want others knowing the outcome of the war or that we'd already lived this once.

Jake looked at me, at a loss. "Umm…he doesn't. But he was read a will by DeGroot and we were able to track her down finally. So now we're getting her out. You guys in or out?" My tone was a little defensive but hey, can you blame me? I didn't have much to work with.

"We're in. What's more, we can send a Chee with Cassie and a Chee with Rachel, just to be there in case something goes wrong, to carry messages or something. Lourdes and Jared will meet up with us on the way."

Cassie, Jake and I morphed and flew to Ax's scoop in the woods as Mr. King and Erek sped along below us, disguised as a red Mustang and a yellow Corvette. When we got to the scoop, the others were waiting on us, including one Chee I recognized and one I didn't. Tobias had brought Toby, Jara, Ket and two other Hork-Bajir.

"We ready for this?" Rachel asked. She looked like she wasn't too thrilled with the idea of trying to get her family out. "Once we evacuate our families, they'll know something's up. And once Tom disappears, they will really know something is wrong. If we do this, we sacrifice being humans. No more TV, no more shopping."

I slapped a hand to my heart. "No more shopping! I don't think I can bear it." I got a calculating look on my face and stepped into the center of the impromptu circle. "We have to do this and we have to do it now. So, in the words of Rachel, I say, let's do it."

As we broke up and went our separate ways, I could see the line from point A to point B in my mind's eye. And I knew that, no matter what happened, that line would always be there, always beckoning me to make the hard choices that would win the war. Always.

**Author's Note: After a super-long hiatus, **_**Once Chance**_** is back. I tried to give you a long chapter to make up for being gone so long but don't know how well I did. Please, please, please read and review so that I can know that people are still reading. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, please review!!!**

**Michelle**


	5. The Refusal

**Okay guys, I'm trying something new this chapter. It's going to be impossible for me to stay in Marco's POV for the next couple of chapters as he's not going with Jake, Cassie and Rachel to get their parents. So this is going to turn into a sort of a Megamorphs now with different Animorphs narrating each chapter. Eventually, I'll go back to Marco as he is my favorite and this is originally a Marco story. Plus, I'm thinking about changing the name of the story to **_**The Line**_**…what do you guys think? Since Marco's all about the addicting line from A to B…should I change it? Let me know when you review (hint, hint). So hold on, cause here we go!!**

**Jake's POV**

There were so many ways this could go wrong. Tom could have back-up or my parents could refuse to go with me or Tom could get away and warn Visser Three and then we'd all be compromised. I looked over at Ax, who stood next to Erek. Erek's hologram covered all of us as we stood on the street, disguised as a FedEx truck. Jara and Ket were also with us and all four of them were waiting on me to make a decision. We knew Tom was inside – Ax had morphed northern harrier and done a fly-by. Luckily for us, my parents and Tom were all in the family room, watching TV. Yeah. Lucky me.

"Okay," I whispered, "Here's how this is going to work. Erek, you cover Ax, Jara and Ket and follow me to the front door. Don't come in yet; just wait. I'll go in and try to get my parents and Tom to leave the house peacefully. Maybe I can tell them I have something at school or something. I don't know. If that doesn't work, I'll say 'Don't be such a loser, Tom.' That means they're not coming and we need to drag Tom out by force. Ax come in then. Jara and Ket hang back unless Ax calls you. Okay?"

My head was spinning so fast from what had happened in the past few days that I was scrambling to come up with a plan. Why was Marco so level-headed these days and I wasn't? That was backwards.

The four others hidden in the hologram nodded. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the FedEx truck and walked to my front door. Hand shaking, I put my key in the knob, unlocked and pushed the door open. I could hear voices coming from the family room. _Focus, Jake, focus_. A part of my mind was focusing on the tiger, ready to morph if I needed to. I prayed it wouldn't come to that.

"Hey, Jake," my mom said as I entered the room. She and my Dad were seated on the couch and Tom was lounging in an armchair across from them. They were watching Star Wars, an old family favorite. _Here goes nothing._

"Hey, you guys wanna go to the basketball game with me? Tom, your old coach told me at school today that he wanted you to come and maybe give the players some tips." I decided to try a little teasing, see how that would work. "You know, since you're the old player who is past his day…see if you can teach them something a little old-school."

Tom gave me a withering look and I grinned back, unperturbed. _Your time is almost up, Yeerk. This is gonna be nice._ My parents looked at each other and then my dad shook his head.

"Sorry, Jake. Maybe another time. You're welcome to sit down and watch Star Wars with us though." My Dad nodded towards the TV and smiled at me.

_Here goes nothing_. "Dad, Mom, you guys have to come with me now. We have to get out of here. I can't explain but you've got to come with me. Pack a bag and let's go."

"What?" my Mom frowned, clearly not understanding the meaning of 'we have to get out of here.' "What are you talking about? We can't go with you."

Tom was onto me, I knew it. He gave me this calculating look and uncrossed his legs, leaning forward and looking as if he was ready to jump me. "Yeah, Jake, what's going on? What's the big hurry? No life?"

"Mom, Dad, you're not going to believe me but the human race is being infested by alien parasites. My friends and I are fighting them and have been fighting them for two years. But they're going to figure out who we are. So we have to get you out of here before they get you. So pack a bag and let's go."

Now everything was out in the open and Tom was on his feet. "What – you – how – what do you know about this? How do you know about this?"

Back-up. I needed back-up and now. "Don't be a loser, Tom!" I yelled.

And that's all it took. Five seconds after I yelled that sentence, Ax burst through the front door and into the family room. My mom screamed and my dad jumped in front of her. Tom on the other hand, reached into his pocket and pulled out a Dracon beam.

"Andalite scum!" he screamed and pulled the trigger.

Ax dodged the blast and danced around the following shots, doing his best to keep Tom's shots off of him. But the Yeerk in Tom's head knew that if he kept Ax off-balance, there was nothing the Andalite could do. My parents were back against the wall, keeping out of the way.

"Ax!" I shouted. "Back-up!"

A miniscule twitch of Ax's stalk eye was all the indication that he'd heard me but, when Jara and Ket bounded in a moment later, I knew he'd heard me.

My mom fainted as Ket ducked under a Dracon blast and slammed a meaty fist into Tom's head. Dad stepped out of the corner angrily and pointed a finger at me.

"Who are you? Where is my son?" His voice was trembling and his finger was shaking.

I sighed. "It's me, Dad. These are my friends. I don't have time to explain it to you right now but I was telling you the truth. They're called Yeerks and they are invading Earth as we speak. Tom is infested. You know Chapman, the Vice President at my school? Yeah. He's one, too. And if we don't get out of here now, you two will become Controllers as well." Okay. Push had come to shove. Big guns. "Because if it comes down to it and it's you or me, I'm gonna choose me. I've been fighting this war for a long time and I haven't survived this long without making the necessary choice. And so if I want to survive and I have to let them take you in order to do that, I'm gonna do it." I shrugged and waited to see their response.

"But…Tom's not an alien. And how have you been fighting? You're sixteen, Jake! You're not in the Army, you're not a Marine. I'm not buying into this." My Dad was shocked and confused and was putting all his fear into denying what was before his eyes.

I heaved a sigh. "Dad. What do you think he is?" I waved a hand towards Ax. "Or them?" My other hand towards Jara and Ket. "You can't tell who a Yeerk is just by looking at them. Yeerks are parasites who slither into their host's ear and wrap their slimy bodies around the brain. Then they are in control of everything. For the past two years, perhaps longer, Tom, your Tom, your son, has been a prisoner inside his own brain. He can watch and he can rail against his imprisonment but that's about it." I focused on the tiger DNA inside me and willed the changes to begin. "And how have I been fighting? By turning into animals and running around at night, protecting you and hundreds of humans like you."

My hands turned into paws and I fell forward onto all fours. With a loud _schloop_, my backbone extended into a tail, hairless and bony. Seconds later, the fur raced across my body as my nose pushed out into a snout. My Dad hollered and jumped back as the black and orange spread over my face. And lastly, my eyes turned to the molten gold of the tiger.

((This is how I fight, Dad. I turn into a tiger, a falcon, an ant and I fight. I can't tell you the numbers of Hork-Bajir I've killed. And it has all been to one day free Tom. That day is today, Dad, but you have to come with me. Pack a bag and let's go.))

Dad put a hand to his head and stared at me wonderingly. "Your voice…in my head." He shook his head as if to shake my thought-speak from his brain and glanced at Tom, lying unconscious on the floor, Ax standing over him with tail blade at my brother's throat. "If he has one of these Yorks, or whatever you call them, in his head, how are you going to get it out?"

I could tell my Dad was coming around to maybe believing me. We'd be out of here in no time. ((We'll hold him for three days, maybe less, and the Yeerk will starve. It will die and Tom will be back. But we have to go, please. Pack a bag for you and for Mom. Then come on.))

He nodded and turned. Kneeling beside Mom, he slapped her lightly on the face. "Wake up, hon," he muttered. When my Mom finally came around, Dad placed a hand over her mouth. "Come on. We're leaving."

As they went up the stairs, I slinked after them, just to make sure nothing went wrong. After they went into their room, I padded into my own and picked up a backpack in my teeth. For the past year, I'd always kept it packed with what I would need if I had to make a quick getaway.

((Prince Jake!)) Ax's thought-speak was a shout. I bounded down the hallway and down the stairs, rushing into the family room.

((What? What is it?)) I asked, my head swiveling to see that nothing was changed. Jara and Ket stood at the doors and Tom still lay on the floor under Ax's watchful gaze.

((Erek says there is a black van approaching. He says he thinks there are Hork-Bajir inside. We must go.))

((Crap. Jara, take Tom back to the Valley. Ket, with me. We'll get my parents and get out.))

Jara nodded. "Live free or die." He scooped Tom's limp body up in his arms and ran out.

I made a quick decision. ((Ax, go with him. We can't let Tom fall back into enemy hands.)) When the Andalite hesitated, I snapped, ((Go, Ax!))

My parents were just coming down the stairs as Ax nodded and raced to follow the Hork-Bajir. "What's going on?" Dad asked.

((Trouble. Let's go.)) My mom still looked weak on her feet and I turned my head to look at my father. ((Help Mom. We have to go fast.))

I broadcast my thought-speak to Erek, who was hopefully still waiting outside. ((Erek! Meet us in the back, be ready with a hologram. We need to hide.)) I couldn't hear his reply but I knew he'd be there.

Ket and I ran behind Mom and Dad as we entered the backyard. There was a large statue of Hercules beside Homer's dog house, a statue that I'd never seen before.

((In the statue.)) I ordered. Ket and I kind of herded my parents over to the statue and, once we were inside, we could see Erek. ((Mom, Dad, meet Erek King. Erek, my parents. What's the deal, Erek?))

Mom looked ready to faint again but I had to ignore her for now. Erek turned his shiny android head to look at me. "I estimate about five, six Hork-Bajir. The van should be turning onto your street any minute. What do you want to do?"

I had a plan but I didn't know how well it would work. ((I'll go distract them, make them think we were just here for Tom. Erek, you guys go over the fence here into the neighborhood behind us. Then put up a hologram of something, a car, a truck, something, and take Mom and Dad to the valley. Ket will show you the way. I'll meet you there.))

Erek nodded and I turned to go. My Dad's voice stopped me. "Jake?"

((It's okay. These are friends. I'll be along shortly. Please. You have to trust me.))

My Dad simply nodded and I stepped out of the hologram. Once I was on the outside, all I could see was the statue. But I had no time to linger. Instead, I trotted back through the house and out to the front porch just as the black van screeched to a stop at the curb. Two men got out of the driver's side and the passenger's side. Each of them held a weapon.

"Andalite bandit. You should have known we would have this house under guard, after what you did to the human Controller called Chapman. It's the end of the line for you." The slightly bulkier man sneered.

_Yes. I'll just make them think I came for Tom. I can still salvage this._ ((You are too late, Yeerk scum. I have already taken the human Tom.)) I moved sideways and watched as the humans moved to match me. _Great. This is going to end in a fight._

"Well, then we'll just settle for one of the Andalite bandits. Attack!" Bulky's partner shouted and five Hork-Bajir poured out of the van.

I leapt at the throat of the first one and caught the off-guard creature's fleshy neck in my teeth. With a quick twist of my jaw, his throat tore open and blood spurted all over my nose. But I didn't have time to dwell on it. The other four Hork-Bajir were all around me and I spun on my haunches, looking for my next target. Quick as lightening, I swiped a meaty paw at one of my attackers, hitting him in the face. My claws dug long furrows in his cheeks and he went down. But the other Hork-Bajir attacked, slashing at me with their blades. One blade tore into my side and I whimpered involuntarily. Another one sliced my face, narrowly missing my eye. I lunged at another Hork-Bajir and scored a direct hit, biting into his stomach and shaking my head, ripping a large hole in his body. He dropped. There were still two attackers and I abruptly realized that the two humans were getting into the fight when a Dracon blast grazed my rear leg, burning the side of it. I growled and felt my leg collapse under me. Through sheer force of will, I dragged myself back to my feet and kept fighting but I knew it was hopeless. One of the Hork-Bajir slashed his wrist blade along my side and I felt something break. There was no way I could hold my own any longer against two Hork-Bajir and two humans with Dracon beams.

All of a sudden, there was another animal beside me, one that quickly took out the other two Hork-Bajir. It happened so fast, I didn't see what had occurred. All I knew was that the other animal was swinging big fists and knocking my attackers away.

((Come on, Jake buddy, let's get out of here.)) Marco's voice echoed in my head and a part of my brain that wasn't folding under the pain recognized that I needed to follow him.

((Can't…can't move. Leave…)) I muttered. I couldn't force my back leg to cooperate. It was all I could do to focus on the blurry gorilla beside me.

((Yeah, like I'm going to leave you. You been sniffing paint thinner? Start demorphing; I'll get you out of here.)) Marco wasn't injured at all and, as I started to demorph, he reached down with his piledriver arms and gathered me up like I wasn't a full-grown Siberian tiger. He loped away from my house, leaving the two human controllers to cart away the fallen Hork-Bajir before any humans saw the corpses.

Slowly, I shrank and my wounds faded away to be replaced by healthy pink skin. Marco stopped a few blocks down and set me on the ground behind some bushes. I sat there, hidden by forestry, as he demorphed and sat down next to me.

"You get them?" he asked quietly. That's when I knew Marco hadn't been a hundred percent sure his plan would work. He'd hoped, he'd wished, but he hadn't _known_. And that had worried him. While Marco came off to the world as cynical, I knew better. If we'd failed this time around to get my family out, he would have been just as upset as I would have been. But that wasn't the case this time.

I nodded. "Jara and Ax took Tom back to the valley. Ket and my parents hid behind one of Erek's holograms and should be on their way to the valley as well." Something caught my attention and I hesitated, looking at my friend. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Tobias and Loren?"

"Toby is with them. I stayed long enough to make sure Loren wasn't going to be the problem and then I took off. Something told me I was missing a key element and now I see what it was. Of course they would be watching your house. Hopefully, they won't put two and two together." Marco laughed nervously. "For now, we better head to the home of the Salad Shooters. You good to morph bird?"

"Yeah." We both started to morph and I asked a question as the changes began. "You hear anything from Cassie and Rachel yet?"

Marco's mouth was the first thing to change and so his thought-speak filled my head. ((No, not yet. They'll be all right though, they've got Chee and Hork-Bajir backup. Let's just focus on getting the two of us to the valley.))

Once we were fully bird, we took to the air and winged our way towards the valley. As we flew away, I looked down at my house for what might be the last time. And I felt sad. But, like Marco, I can see the line from point A to point B. It's a little more hazy for me than for him but I knew that, in order for the line to stay straight, our lives pretending to be normal humans was over. The line demanded it.

**Author's Note:**

**Hope I did an okay job with Jake's POV. Please read and review! Hoping for another new chapter up tomorrow…we'll see. If you don't review, I might not write! So REVIEW!!! Thanks!**

**Michelle**


	6. The Persuasion

I still wasn't a hundred percent sure what had happened. Tobias had said something about the Ellimist and obviously I wasn't dead but I still didn't know really had had happened. I mean, how exactly did one go from dead and chilling in the afterlife to standing in a meadow and running from Bug fighters? Yeah. Don't get that. Now, hang on a second. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining at all about being given a second chance. I just want to know what had to be given up so that I could get another shot.

Lourdes, a Hork-Bajir named Ren, and I approached my house. Lourdes had thrown up a hologram around us of a garbage truck and, when we stopped in front of my two-story brick house, Lourdes brought the garbage truck to a slow halt.

"Ok." I whispered. "We've done this before – or at least I have. I think. It shouldn't be too hard. This time, though, I'm not going to morph before I go in. I'll try and get my mom to come without having to morph. If that doesn't work, if she doesn't believe me, I'll morph and prove it to her. You two keep watch out here. Let me know if anyone shows up. Ok. Here I go."

I stepped out of the hologram and walked to my front door. As quickly as I could, I put my key in the lock, turned the knob and opened the door. Once I stepped inside, I could hear raised voices and knew that my mom and Jordan were still involved in the same argument they'd been in when I left the house this morning.

"But, mom! You let Rachel go out whenever she wants, wherever she wants! She doesn't even tell you half the time where she's going. But you won't let me go to the movies tonight? That is so unfair!" Jordan stood in the doorway of the kitchen, hands on her hips. I kept back far enough so she wouldn't see me yet, interested to see where this was going.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady. I do not let your sister go out whenever she wants. And she always has to tell me where she's going. Besides, life is not always fair. If life was fair than you would have to take Sarah with you tonight because if you get to go to the movies, it's only fair that she get to go with you." My Mom was in full lawyer mode now and I winced. Jordan should know to give up at this point but no, she kept arguing.

"Oh, yeah? I bet you don't know that when Rachel goes to her room to 'do homework' or 'take a nap', she actually leaves the house? She's _never_ in her room when she says she is, Mom! And you don't even care!" Jordan stamped her foot angrily. I sighed. _Here we go._

"What do you mean, she's not there? Of course she's in her room. Where else would she be? And how would you know she's not there anyway?"

"Because sometimes I go up to ask her something and she's not there. Even at night, Mom, sometimes I have a bad dream and I go in there and she's not in her bed! And the window's always open. Mom…she's not there right now. Remember she told you she was going to work on homework till dinner? I went upstairs to ask her a question and she's not there. But her shoes and her jeans and her t-shirt were all on the floor under the window. She's sneaking out Mom." Jordan lowered her voice to a whisper. "And she's sneaking out _naked_."

I almost laughed as I walked up behind Jordan. "I am not sneaking out naked, Jordan. What do you think I am, a stripper? No, I'm not running around naked. But I am sneaking out Mom, all the time. I have been for the past two years. At night, during the day, when you think I'm at Cassie's, I'm not. I've ditched school and gymnastics. Face it Mom. I'm never where you think I am."

_This may not be the best way to explain what's going on,_ I thought to myself but I was committed now as my Mom started to speak. "What do you mean you're never where I think you are? Where are you if you're not here or where you say you are? What are you doing?"

My Mom's a lawyer. You gotta hit her with the facts or she'll tear you to shreds. So I decided to just be blunt. My favorite. "I'm fighting a war, Mom. See, about two years ago, me, Jake, Cassie, Marco and Tobias walked through the construction site. And we met an alien. His name was Elfangor and he was in the middle of an intergalactic war. His people, the Andalites, were trying to stop an alien, parasitic race called the Yeerks from taking over Earth. But they were losing. So he gave us, the five of us, a power. We had the power to touch an animal, absorb its DNA into our blood and morph the animal. We could become whatever creature we touched. And so we started to fight. We've fought and we've fought. We've made sacrifices and we've almost been killed more than once. Tobias was trapped as a hawk. I've turned into Xena. And I've trapped another human being as a rat and left him to die on a rock in the middle of the ocean. I've killed, Mom. Killed and enjoyed it. But now the fight is coming close to home. And so I have to get you guys out of here."

While I talked, I watched my Mom move slowly towards Jordan. When I finished speaking, she lurched forward and grabbed Jordan's arm, pulling my sister behind her. "What's going on here? What have you done with my daughter?"

I sighed. Things were just never easy for an Animorph. "Mom, it's me. Rachel. I'm just different. You're gonna have to trust me."

My mom laughed harshly. "Trust you? I don't know what you think you're playing at, Rachel, if it is really you, but this is a cruel joke. Telling me you can turn into animals and that you've been fighting some alien race for two years? I think I would have known if you had been fighting a war!"

Well, now there was no other choice but to prove it. "Jordan, Mom, don't be scared. This is my proof." I focused on the DNA of the grizzly bear and felt the changes begin. The first thing to change was my skin. Coarse brown fur sprouted crazily from every pore and I suddenly shot up to seven feet. My blonde hair was sucked back into my scalp and my fingernails extended into wicked claws.

The morph seemed to take longer than usual and my Mom seemed to wilt a little more with each change. When my nose finally ballooned out into a snout, she backed up against the sink.

((You believe me now, Mom?)) I remained upright on two paws and looked at her. With my bear eyes, I could see just the blurry outlines of her and my sister. I could no longer judge their reactions by their expressions.

"Rachel? Your voice…in my head." Jordan spoke up now, putting a hand to her face.

((It's called thought-speak. But I don't have time for all that now. Listen, I have to get you out of here. If I don't, the Yeerks will know who you are. They'll come for you and they'll take all three of you. And you want to know what will happen, Mom?)) My mother shook her head but I didn't see it. Instead, I plunged on. ((They'll take you to the Yeerk pool where involuntary hosts sit in cages and scream for someone to release them. They'll take you, one at a time, to a pier overlooking the sludgy liquid. And they'll shove your heads underwater. A Yeerk will enter your ear and squeeze itself into your brain. After that, you won't be you anymore. You'll be a Controller, unable to do anything but watch as the Yeerk pretends to be you. Your words? Not you. Your actions? Not you. I know. Tom is one. Chapman, assistant principle at my school, Melissa's dad, is one. Jake was one once but we rescued him. And I refuse to let that happen to you. I haven't fought this long to lose my family. So are you coming or not?))

Jordan stepped forward. "I'm coming, Rachel." I couldn't tell if she really believed me or if she thought this was a game but I was glad someone had stepped up.

((Good. Take Sarah upstairs and pack a few things. You don't have time to pack much; we could be in the middle of a fight any minute. Get some clothes and maybe a book or two. And soap – where we're going, they're not big on bathing.)) I chose to remain in morph as Jordan nodded.

"Can I bring some movies to watch? Or maybe my new Wii game?" Jordan asked.

I shook my shaggy bear head. ((No TV in the valley. Pretty much no electronics either. But you can bring your cell phone and I'll see if I can help you out with charging it. Now go.)) As Jordan ran from the room I turned and looked at my mother. She was still standing as far away from me as she could get. ((You coming, mom?))

Her mouth moved but no words came out. I waited as she cleared her throat and coughed twice. "I don't…this can't…you have to be kidding me. This has to be a joke. I think I'd know if we were being invaded by aliens. Surely it would be on Regis or Oprah."

((Seriously, Mom? I'm standing here as a freakin' grizzly bear and you doubt if what I'm telling you is the truth? You want to know the truth, Mom? At this point, I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm not going to stand around arguing with you all day. The rest of my friends are getting their families out too and the Yeerks are going to start suspecting something is going on. Then they'll figure out we all hang out together. And they're smart, Mom. They aren't dumb. And they'll show up here, intent on capturing an 'Andalite bandit' and using my family against me. But I can't – I won't let that happen. I'll be gone long before they get here. And if I have to leave without you, I will. Then the Yeerks will infest you and I'll probably end up forced to fight you. Because when it comes right down to it, Mom, I'm the one fighting this war. And in a war, sacrifices must be made. Even if it kills me. So you can come or you can stay. But Jordan and Sarah are coming with me.))

Jordan and Sarah entered the room then, each with a duffel bag slung over their shoulders. Sarah also carried her favorite teddy bear and didn't seem at all surprised to see a grizzly bear standing in her kitchen – Jordan must have filled her in. Jordan held two sleeping bags and had two pillows shoved under her arms. "We're ready, Rachel." Jordan turned to Mom. "Aren't you coming, Mom?"

I waited for her response. After about a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "I'll come. But just because I'm not going to let Jordan and Sarah go with you alone. I'm not saying I believe any of this."

((Good.)) At this point, I'd take whatever I could get. ((Pack a bag. You don't need your laptop and you don't need any work. For now, you're unemployed. Hurry; we probably don't have much time.))

My mother looked like she wanted to argue but she didn't, just walked from the room. I stared at Jordan and Sarah as we waited.

Sarah was the first to break the silence. "Rachel? Are you really a bear?"

I laughed in thought-speak. ((Yeah, Sarah, I am. Pretty cool, huh?))

She nodded. Jordan broke in with a question. "What else can you turn into, Rach? And can I try it sometime?"

((No, sorry, Jordan. This isn't something I do for fun – most of the time. Morphing saves my life. But you'd be surprised by the number of animals I've become. I've been a cat, a horse, a dolphin and a whale, a giant squid, a starfish, a bald eagle and an owl. An elephant and a grizzly bear.))

Just then, my mom came back into the room, pulling a small red suitcase behind her. "I'm ready." Her voice was testy and I knew she didn't appreciate being ordered around by her daughter.

I nodded while I projected my thought-speak to Lourdes. ((Lourdes, are we still clear?)) I knew she would send Ren in if things got bad but I wanted to make sure before I took the time to pack some things for myself.

Lourdes' voice carried all the way from outside. "Looks that way, Rachel! Don't worry; I'll send Ren if I need to."

As I started to shrink, Jordan ran to the doorway and looked out the window. All that was outside our house was a garbage truck. "Who was that?" she asked.

"A friend." I said as I made the transition from thought-speak to real speech. Seconds later, I was fully girl again, standing in my kitchen in my leotard. "Ok, I'll be right back. You guys stay right here."

I ran up the stairs to my bedroom and grabbed an old gymnastics bag from my closet. There was no time to be selective over my clothes and so I just grabbed all my leotards, a couple of pairs of jeans, three or four t-shirts and all the hoodies I could grab. Stuffing everything into the bag, I picked up two pairs of sneakers and added them. Then I grabbed my cell phone and charger, three books and my hairbrush. I stuffed those in with the clothes and stepped into my bathroom. Jordan had already grabbed all the soap and shampoo but I grabbed two towels and put them in my bag, then zipped it closed. I chose a red sleeping bag and ran back through my room, grabbing my pillow on the way. Then I went back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"All right, let's go. Out the front door, come on." I herded my family out the door and towards the garbage truck.

"We're going to run into that garbage truck, Rachel!" Jordan exclaimed but I didn't stop. I kept pushing them until, one by one, they were inside the hologram. My mother screamed.

"I don't have time for this, Mom. Guys, meet Lourdes," I waved a hand towards the Chee, "and Ren. He's a Hork-Bajir. He's on our side. Now come on, chill out. Lourdes, let's go."

The Chee started the truck moving and we all walked along with her. I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd done it. I'd gotten my family out. I just hoped that everyone else's families hadn't been as difficult to rescue as mine.

**Author's Note: Did you like it? Not many people are reviewing these new chapters…I'm starting to think people aren't reading! On that note, thanks to Altaea, GuardianImmortal and Blueberry the Doom Chicken for reviewing! Altaea, hope the Rachel POV didn't disappoint! Please, people, READ AND REVIEW!!! Thanks!**


	7. The Loss

"My parents shouldn't be too hard to convince. They're both vets so they'll be pretty fascinated by the whole I can turn into animals thing. Of course, my guess is it will freak them out a bit first but they shouldn't put up a huge fight. So Jared, Quil, you guys stay out here. I doubt they'll want to listen to me if an android and a Hork-Bajir come tromping in our front door." I chuckled nervously. The big Hork-Bajir beside me nodded his head and Jared said, "Gotcha."

We were standing just outside of the barn, facing my back porch. I was definitely feeling a serious case of déjà vu just by standing here – I could remember doing this the first time around. Of course, then I'd had Tobias and Ax to back me up, not to mention the others. This time, I was more or less on my own.

I hesitated for a bare moment before stepping out of the manure pile hologram and striding across my lawn. My mother sat at the patio table, reading the newspaper. I almost had a heart attack. Things were starting out just the way they had once before. Or would happen. Oh, I don't get time travel. I leave that to those people who talk about the line from point A to point B. Marco and Jake. Me, I see the emotions on that line that make up all the points in between.

"Hey, mom." I said as I strolled nonchalantly up onto the porch. _Please let this go well._ "What are you up to today? Big plans?"

"No, not too big. I might head over to the Gardens later and check on an injured tiger but other than that, it's a lazy day for me. If I go to the park, you want to come with me? You could help with the tiger – remember when that tiger fell through the ceiling of the mall? Man…that was wild. So what do you say?" Mom took a sip of her coffee and peered at me over the top of her paper.

I shook my head. "I can't today, Mom. In fact, I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me today. For a while. Kind of like…a vacation." I didn't know how to tell my Mom. How do you tell your parent that they have to leave their house and can never return? "But permanently."

She looked puzzled; can you blame her? "A vacation? Permanently? Cassie, what are you talking about?"

I decided to tell her the whole truth. "Mom, there's a war going on. Alien slugs called Yeerks have invaded Earth. Two years ago, I was a dumb kid. An alien spacecraft landed in front of me and my friends and an alien stepped out, an Andalite named Elfangor. He told us about the Yeerks and how they control people's brains so we don't know who is a Controller and who is not. So for two years we've been fighting with a power Elfangor gave us. The power to turn into any animal we touch for two hours at a time. But there was a catch to this power. We couldn't stay in morph for longer than two hours at a time. If we did, we'd be trapped as that animal forever. It's happened. Tobias is now a hawk. He lives in a meadow and eats rats."

During the whole time I was speaking, my Mom continued to look at me with a look that said I was crazy but she was trying to figure out what to do with me. "You can turn into animals?" she asked skeptically, her tone indicating all she was doing was humoring me. "Really now."

Taking a seat across from her, I looked her in the face and drew the image of a wolf into my head. I wasn't going to start morphing yet but I knew it would probably come to that. "I'm telling the truth, Mom. You want to know what I can morph? Oh, I'll tell you. I can morph a wolf – that's my battle morph. As you know, it has great speed and endurance and wicked teeth and claws. My normal bird morph is an osprey. I can also morph a bat, an ant, a flea. A horse, a polar bear, a kangaroo, a trout and a dolphin. You wouldn't believe the amount of animal DNA I have floating around in my blood, Mom."

"You're right. I don't believe you. Cassie, joke's over. Give it up. Haha, it was funny for a minute but it's over now."

"Look, mom, I don't have time for this. We live the farthest out of town of all my friends. That means that they've probably already gotten their families out. Which also means that the longer I have to spend convincing you to come with me, the more likely it is the Yeerks will show up and try to kill us. Understand?" I rested my hands on the patio table and leaned forward to stare my Mom in the face. "What's it going to be?"

"Cassie, how am I supposed to believe you? You come to me with some crazy story about aliens trying to take over the world and that you and your friends – whom I don't even know – are fighting them by turning into animals? Forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe." My Mom wasn't even giving me a chance. She had decided she didn't believe me and wouldn't be budged without proof.

I sighed. "Mom, you _do_ know my friends. Jake – he's our leader. His battle morph is a tiger. He was the tiger at the mall that day. He was once captured and infested but we killed the Yeerk and freed him. My best friend, Rachel? Yeah, she's fighting too. Her battle morph is a grizzly bear and she loves to smash things up. Her favorite thing to do now? Morph an African elephant and stomp some cars or pick up people with her trunk and throw them very far. Jake's best friend Marco coined the term Animorph to describe us. He morphs a gorilla, Big Jim to be exact, to fight. Marco doesn't enjoy fighting but he sees the line of survival. He knows what has to be done to live to fight another day, even if it means giving up what you care about most. And Tobias used to be a human until he was forced to remain in morph for longer than two hours. That's the time limit, I told you. And when you stay in morph for longer than two hours, you're stuck that way. He's now a red-tailed hawk. He can still morph but if he gets trapped again, it's for good. And he won't risk that happening – he won't give up the fight now. We've also got a resident alien on our team, Ax. He's an Andalite and looks like a blue centaur with a scorpion tail, four eyes and no mouth." I paused. She still wasn't fully buying it and so I focused on the wolf DNA inside of me. "I fight too, Mom. When we go into battle, whether it's against Hork-Bajir or Taxxons or even Visser Three himself, I morph a wolf." The changes were beginning but I was controlling them so that the first thing to change was my skin. Fur burst out of every one of my pores and my Mom jerked back, away from me. "With these paws," as I spoke, I fell forward onto all fours and my feet and hands morphed into paws, "I can knock a Hork-Bajir on his butt. I can dig into a Taxxon's slimy skin and make him burst open like an overripe tomato." Mom was trying to scoot away from me, an expression of sheer terror on her face. My tail _shlooped_ out of my butt and now I let my face change. My nose ballooned out into a snout and sharp, jagged teeth filled my jaw as my ears slid up my head. ((With these teeth, Mom, I can and I have ripped out the throat of an opponent and leave him to die. I can rip off his limbs. I have done these things, Mom. And before this war is over, I'll do them again.)) I paused and gauged her response. Acceptance and something else – shock? Fear? - was dawning in her eyes. ((Now do you believe me?)) I asked, my thought-speak gentler.

"Cassie? Why would you do this? Why not just say no?"

((Because I have to. Because if I don't, if Jake doesn't, if Rachel, Marco, Tobias and Ax don't, the entire human race is going to be enslaved. Free will, Mom? That'll be gone. And that's something we will not let happen. If it means fighting, if it means killing, we'll do it. There is _nothing_ we will not do to win. We've trapped a traitor Animorph as a rat and left him on a rock in the middle of the ocean to die. We've prevented the birth of a man so that he would not be able to tamper with history. We've had to kill humans because they were infested by Yeerks trying to kill us. And we've lost friends. Rachel and Jake have both died, though we were able to bring them back thanks to an omnipotent being called an Ellimist. Marco's heart stopped once and had to be resuscitated. Ax has lost an arm and had to have it sewn back on. And we've lied. Lied like we've never lied before. But it's all been necessary, Mom. Without it, our families would not be safe. And that's who we're fighting for. You. You and Dad and Rachel's parents and sisters. We're fighting for the human race, Mom. Fighting in a war we cannot lose. Now. Are you going to come with me or am I going to have to drag you?))

She stood up, slowly, and set her coffee down. Then, without answering me, she turned to look in the door. "Walter? Walter, pack a bag. We have to go somewhere."

A moment later, my Dad walked out. His eyes traveled past me at first and then he did a double-take, jerking around to stare at the wolf on his porch. "Michelle? Michelle, honey, back away. That wolf might have rabies. It might attack."

Mom shook her head. "No, Walter. That wolf is your daughter. She'll have to explain it all to you but the short version is that she and her friends have been fighting a war against alien parasites who are trying to infest the human race. Now we have to get out of here or be captured and enslaved. So pack a bag and let's go. You're going to have to trust me on this one."

I opened my mouth and let my tongue loll out in a wolfy grin. ((Hey, Dad. What's going on?))

Dad put his hand to his head. "Cassie? You're a wolf?"

((Yep. Come on, Dad, we gotta go. I don't have time-))

My thought-speak was interrupted by a cry from Jared. "Cassie! We got company – they know we're here! Get out of there!"

((Ok, no time to pack a bag. Jared, you and Quil get over here. Mom, Dad, we'll pick up some stuff for you guys later. I've got my stuff stashed in the barn and a few things for you guys in there too – I always liked being prepared.))

Just then, my Mom let out a shrill shriek as Quil came loping across the grass with Jared, hologram on to show a teenaged guy, running beside him. They stopped at the foot of the stairs.

((Mom, Dad, meet Jared and Quil. Quil's a Hork-Bajir. Jared's an android. Jared, you get my parents out of here. Use a hologram. Quil, you fight with me. How many we talking, guys?)) My thoughts were all jumbled and running together. I didn't even know if I was making any sense.

"Five, maybe six. I'm on it. You two, follow me, please." Jared motioned for my parents to follow him and turned, heading towards the barn. He called back over his shoulder, "We'll head for the valley. Catch up when you can."

I shook my wolf head and looked at my parents. Both looked petrified. "Please go with him. He's a friend of mine. I'm going to have to fight and I don't want to have to worry about you guys. Please."

My Dad started to shake his head but Mom laid a hand on his arm. "We'll go, Cassie." She stepped down the porch and Dad followed her. With one last glance back at me, they followed Jared at a run across the lawn, past the barn and into the woods. I turned to look at Quil.

((Well? Are you with me?)) I asked quietly. As hard as it was right then, I forced my mind to focus entirely on the coming fight. I couldn't afford to worry about my parents right then.

"Quil fight with Cassie. Quil free. Quil no have Yeerk. Quil never have Yeerk again." The simple statement by the simple Hork-Bajir filled me with hope. I knew he would fight as hard as he could to win the battle.

((Then here we go.)) I trotted down the steps of the porch as five Hork-Bajir came into view around the side of the house. My hackles raised involuntarily and I bared my teeth as they approached. ((Get ready.)) I spoke just to Quil and he nodded, tightening his hands into fists.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have an Andalite bandit and a dumb Hork-Bajir here to deal with." The Hork-Bajir in the lead of the group walking towards us smiled, a truly frightening expression on his alien face. "Of course, we all know we're not really dealing with an Andalite, don't we? You are, after all, human. Cassie, isn't it? It didn't take us long to figure out who you were once we caught that scum, Jake Berenson." He laughed and the other four Yeerks followed his lead.

I growled but refused to believe him. ((Ready, Quil?)) The Hork-Bajir nodded. ((Ok…now!)) I powered my legs and bounded forward as Quil raced beside me. I launched myself at the nearest Hork-Bajir and managed to grab his throat. I bit down as hard as I could and shook my head left and right. Blood spurted across my muzzle but there was no time to feel squeamish. Instead, I jumped clear of his falling body and turned to the next Hork-Bajir. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quil slash his elbow blade across another Hork-Bajir's stomach. Then I was on the leader, growling and snapping at him, dodging his blades. So caught up in the fight was I that it took me a few seconds to notice when he backed away. I looked around. The other two Hork-Bajir still on their feet were retreating as well.

Quil stepped up beside me as I locked eyes with the leader of the attacking Yeerks. ((Too scared to fight, Yeerk?)) I taunted. Usually, I wasn't one to taunt or gloat but I was confused and trying to buy time to figure out what was going on.

"No. I just thought you might want some incentive to surrender." He motioned towards the forest and, abruptly, three other Hork-Bajir stepped out of the woods. Each one held a human. My wolf eyes were good. Jared didn't fight the Hork-Bajir holding his arms behind his back. Mom looked like she was about to faint – I could make out a bleeding wound on her arm. Dad was struggling against his captors but even I could see his muscles straining in the relaxed grip of the Hork-Bajir. He wasn't going anywhere.

((Let them go, scum! They are of no concern to you.)) My heart was crying out for them but I had no idea what I was going to do. No idea.

"You're right, human. They are of no concern to you. But you are. A human with the morphing power? Imagine the prestige and reward I would get when I bring you in. So here is the deal. You demorph. Return to your pitiful human form. Do not resist capture. And we will let your parents go. I will let all of them go. The three humans and the Hork-Bajir. They will be free to go where they will. All you have to do is turn yourself over to me." The Yeerk sneered at me, so sure what my answer would be.

"Don't do it, Cassie." My Mom suddenly said quietly. Her voice just barely carried across the yard. "Keep fighting."

I was torn. I didn't know what to do, I wasn't prepared for this! It wasn't supposed to happen this way, we were supposed to be making things better, not worse! But then, even as I struggled with the answer, I knew what I had to do. I knew the only thing I could do.

((I'm sorry.)) I whispered, directing my thought-speak to my parents alone. I saw my Mom close her eyes briefly and her assured smile falter for just a second before she nodded. I saw panic enter my Dad's face as his struggling increased in power. Then I turned my attention to the Yeerk. ((Get ready to follow me.)) This I said to just Quil before I addressed the Yeerk in open thought-speak. ((I will not surrender. I will not allow you to enslave me and use me to get my friends. We will keep fighting until we free everyone, including my parents. I will not give in.))

The Yeerk took a step back. "Free your parents, human? I am not going to enslave them. I am going to kill them."

And then, before I could do anything but utter a strangled yelp, he made a chopping motion with his hand and the two Hork-Bajir holding my parents captive slashed their wrist blades across my Mom and Dad's throats. Their bodies dropped to the ground and I screamed.

((NOOOOOO!!!)) I leapt at the Yeerk leader, my powerful jaws going for his neck. But he was fast and ducked out of the way. His elbow blade caught me across my side at the same time that his knee blade came up and stabbed into my stomach. I flipped in the air and came down hard on my side, pain radiating through my body.

Jared's voice penetrated the curtain of red fury in my brain. "Run, Cassie! Run!"

Quil was attacking as well now but we were both losing. He took an elbow blade to the heart and went down, breath rattling in his throat and limbs jerking in death spasms. Laboriously, I dragged myself to my feet and, with one last glance over at my parents' bodies, I turned and ran, flat-out, begging my body for all the speed it could give me, calling on the wolf's endurance to get me far away. _I will avenge you, Mom. Dad. I will not rest until I destroy all the Yeerks on this planet. They will pay, I promise you that._

As I ran, I let the wolf's instincts take over and I let go of my consciousness, refusing to dwell on what just happened. And so I ran.

**Author's Note: So definitely didn't start out this chapter planning to kill Cassie's parents. It just kinda went that way. I thought it would be interesting to see what she'd be like if the Yeerks killed someone she loved. I'm still thinking about whether or not I like this so it might change. Might not. What do you guys think? You like it? Think its interesting? Dumb? Please please please READ AND REVIEW and let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	8. The Change

My name is Tobias. Yes, I know Marco has already begun the story but I feel the need to introduce myself as well. Me? I'm a freak of nature. I'm a boy trapped in the body of a hawk, a red-tailed hawk. But I can turn into my old human form for two hours at a time. Of course, this time if I overstay the time limit, I'm done for. I'll be out of the fight and that's something I won't let happen. No way are my friends going to fight while I sit on a tree branch and watch. No thank you. But that's not where the craziness ends. Turns out my Dad was an Andalite. And not just any Andalite. Oh no. He was Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul, the Andalite who gave us the morphing power. Yep. My dad was an alien. And my Mom left me when I was very young. But now, thanks to the knowledge I have of future events that haven't happened yet, and hopefully won't happen, I know where she lives and I know the issues she has.

((Dude. What are you waiting for, an invitation?)) Marco sounded irritated but I knew better. He wasn't irritated that I'd circled Loren's house three times. He was worried that something was going to happen to someone else while we were here on this boring street. See, Marco is what some people call paranoid. Me, I just call it ruthless. He knows point A and he knows point B and he knows everything that must be done and everything that can go wrong to get from one end of the line to the other. So he was anxious to get this over and done with.

We had decided to go with the straightforward approach. I knew Loren had flashes of Elfangor. I knew she had been told she had a son. And I knew the issues she had with her memory loss. So me and Marco were just going to go in and tell her straight-up what the truth was and go from there. Toby was hanging out in the woods behind the church a block away and would come if I called her.

((Well, all right then, Marco. Here we go!)) I spilled air from my wings and dove towards the ground. Marco hurtled earth-ward right behind me, his smaller osprey body not quite as fast as mine in a dive. We landed in the bushes and I morphed to human while Marco demorphed to his self-proclaimed cute self. I don't see it. Means I'm not gay. Or that he's not cute. Take your pick.

"You got a plan, dude?" Marco asked as we stood in the bushes, both of us in our morphing suits, both of us looking like dorks. Badly dressed dorks. He ran a hand through his short-cropped black hair and pulled at his bike shorts, trying to make them not as skintight. Didn't work.

I nodded, a short jerky movement that looked more hawkish than human. "Sure I got a plan. We go in, we tell her the situation, give her the morphing power and haul butt out of there. What could go wrong?"

"What could go wrong?" Marco rolled his eyes. "Man, I hate any plan where the planner feels the need to say that. Makes the planee get a little nervous and start thinking maybe this is insane. You ever think that? That maybe this is the slightest bit INSANE???"

"Yep. Too bad we're doing it anyway." I stepped out from behind the bushes and onto the stoop, Marco on my heels. We didn't bother ringing the doorbell, just twisted the knob and stepped inside.

"Door unlocked? In this neighborhood? Tobias, your mommy is way too trusting." Marco stage-whispered as we entered the front hallway.

I shrugged. Nice having shoulders for an hour or two. "Gotta love people who aren't fighting war and aren't worried about seven-feet-tall razor blades busting into their house at night. Now, come-" I was interrupted by a loud barking.

There was no time to react as a brown and black missile shot towards me from the other end of the hall. No time to get my hands in front of my face or my talons in position – wait, no, no talons. Not now. Fingers. Hands. Human.

"Whoa, Champ! Easy, Champ!" I shouted as the German Shepherd launched himself at me. "Down, boy!" The dog wasn't buying the 'hey-I-knew-this-kid-in-another-timeline' routine. He leaped up at my arm and sank his teeth into my flesh. After I let loose a howl of pain, I slammed my other fist into his head. The big dog fell away, taking a large chunk of my arm with him. "Marco!" The dog was jumping again. I tried to push him away. "Little help here, man!"

Finally, Marco decided to be a help. He sidled in close and grabbed hold of Champ's fur. His eyes closed as he acquired the dog and the dog fell into the trance. While the dog was motionless, I dragged him to the door and flung him on the stoop. Then I slammed the door and he slammed into the door about five seconds later.

"Champ?" a voice came from a room at the end of the hallway. "Champ, what's going on, buddy?" My mom. Loren. She'd heard her dog attacking someone and couldn't see what was going on. Great. Now she was gonna be mad I threw her dog outside.

"Your mom, buddy? Way too trusting. Unless she's got a gun or something pointed at us with her blind eyes. That'd be insane." Marco whispered. Sometimes that kid gets on my nerves. _Why did Jake have to send Marco with me?_

I raised my voice so she'd hear me. And as calmly as I could, I called, "Loren? Don't be worried. My name is Tobias. I have a friend with me, his name is Marco. We just want to talk. It's really important. Please."

There was a pause. "Okay. But where's my dog?"

Marco answered that one. "He's fine. We just had to uh…give him a doggy bag and tell him to take a hike."

"_Take a hike??_" I hissed. "That's your idea of a reason?" Marco shrugged.

Sighing, I turned away from the idiot and walked down the hall. When we reached the room at the end, the door was open and so we walked right in. It was kind of dark but I could make out a woman sitting in an old recliner near the lone window. There wasn't enough light to make out her features but I knew them. I knew the burns on her face and her blonde hair. Her smile and her eyes. I knew her. Problem was, she didn't know me.

"Who are you?" she asked, not moving. She simply sat there and stared straight ahead, not blinking. The only movements she made were the clenching and unclenching of her hands. "What do you want?"

Marco gave me a little nod and I knelt beside Loren's chair. "Loren, do you ever have flashes, pictures in your head of things that can't possibly be real? Something that seems to you to be a memory or a dream or something impossible but something you know for sure has to be real? Something you can't explain?"

There was no hesitation on her part. She nodded and when she spoke, her words were deliberate. Slow, as if they were being dragged from her mouth one at a time, but sure. "Yes. But they can't be real. They had to be a result of the accident. The pictures, they're like nothing I've seen before, even before I became blind. They can't be real."

I laid my hand on hers. "But they are. Tell me…are they pictures of a blue centaur? A centaur with four eyes, no mouth and a wicked tail? An alien? And yet…he seems friendly, doesn't he? And you know him, don't you? Or at least you should. Right?"

"Yes. Yes, I should know him. He…he should mean a lot to me. But he doesn't. I'd know if I ever met a creature like that, even before my accident. No way would I forget that." Loren turned her hand over and I laced my fingers between hers. I don't know why she did it. But then she spoke again and in her voice was a sob, a slight hitch. "Tobias…they told me I have a son named Tobias. A blonde-haired boy. Sometimes I see flashes of him, too. But he'd be older now, fourteen, maybe fifteen. I haven't seen him in so long."

I could stand it no longer. "It's me, Mo-Mo-Loren. It's me, Tobias. Your son. I'm here and I have to rescue you." I could see the wheels in Marco's brain turning as he thought about the Star Wars joke he could make from that. I glared at him, hoping he wouldn't.

He couldn't resist. Marco batted his eyes at me and said, "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"

I opened my mouth to respond but Loren beat me to the punch. "I'm here with Obi-Wan-Kenobi. We have your R2." She laughed. "After the accident, I watched all the movies I could. I wanted to remember but I couldn't. I couldn't take care of you, Tobias. I'm sorry. I loved you, I did but there was no way I could raise you. I didn't know you! Please, Tobias, you have to forgive me."

"I do, Loren, I do." I still couldn't bring myself to call her Mom or Mother. Or anything like that. No, for now she would remain Loren. "And that alien you keep seeing? He's real too. His name was Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul and he was an Andalite. He was also your husband, my father. He was able to become a human until he was offered the chance to return to war and try to save his people, to save us. And so he did. But he came back to Earth, looking for a way to rewrite history, looking for something called a Time Matrix. Only his ship was attacked in space by an alien race called Yeerks. Elfangor fought but his ship was destroyed. He landed near here, where the Time Matrix was buried, and found five human children there. Me and my friends. And Elfangor gave us a power so that we could fight the alien parasites invading the human race. He gave us the power to morph into any animal we touch. Then he was killed. Ever since then, we've been fighting. Now the time has come to get our families out. And that includes you. You have to come with us or you will be captured and you will die." I stopped and waited to see what her reaction was.

She didn't speak for a long time. But when she did, she was determined. "All right. I believe you. Let's go." Loren stood from her recliner and let the afghan fall to the floor. "I'm gonna need Champ. If you could please bring him back to me."

Marco handed me a drawstring bag. It had taken a long time but we'd been able to carry it here. The blue box. The _Escafil Device_. We were going to use it for the second time in this timeline. I pulled it out of the bag. It glowed faintly. "Loren, I need you to trust me. We are going to give you the power to morph as well. It will be easiest if you can get wings and fly out of here. I'm going to hold something against your hand. Just press your palm against it and wait. There will be a tingling feeling and you'll have the power to morph. Do you trust me?"

She didn't answer. Her sightless eyes stared through me. "I can morph? I can change into animals? That's crazy."

Marco elbowed me in the side. "Don't have time for this, dude. We gotta bail before someone realizes what is going on. Come on, man. Just do it."

I shook my head. "Please, Loren, you have to trust me. If we don't hurry, the Yeerks will be here any minute. They'll take the three of us captive and force their slug bodies into our brains. Then they'll know everything. Once they have us, they'll find our friends, the others who are fighting. They'll take them. And then it's over for the human race. Done. The Yeerks will infest everyone. Now. Are you in?"

No hesitation this time. Loren raised her hand towards me. "I'll do it. But, Tobias…I don't want to fight. I'm not a fighter."

"I know." I whispered and raised the box to her hand. She held her palm against one side of the box and a second later, pulled it away with a small gasp. "Okay, now bear with me. I'm going to morph to bird. Red-tailed hawk to be exact but that doesn't matter now. Marco will hand me to you. When you feel the bird in your hands, you concentrate on the bird. Picture the bird in your mind. Then we'll walk you through the rest. Okay?"

She nodded and I began to demorph. Rapidly, as fast as I could. The beak came first and then the feathers. The sharp, ripping talons and the enhanced vision. Less than two minutes later, I was fully hawk. Marco picked me up, gently, and handed me to Loren. She took me gingerly and held me in her hands.

((Ok, now, focus. Picture the bird. Wings, feathers, beak, talons. Hurry, Loren.))

Loren's face screwed up into an expression of confusion. "Tobias? Your voice, it's in my head. What's going on?"

((It's the way you communicate when you're in morph. Now concentrate.))

I could tell she was focusing because I felt sleepy all of a sudden. For about ten seconds, I didn't want to move. Then, all of a sudden, I was fine. I flapped a bit and fluttered away from her. I landed on a bookshelf and looked at her. Marco was shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other and was slowly morphing to osprey. So far he had feathers but not much else.

((Okay, Loren. This is gonna be weird. Now you have to focus on becoming the bird. Picture yourself as the bird. But here's the thing. Morphing restores injured DNA. So…you're going to be able to see. Get ready. Also be ready to handle the bird's instincts. Ok? Think about the bird.))

Loren nodded. Moments later, she began to change. First it was her mouth and nose, melding together to become a hard beak. Then feathers began to etch themselves across her body. The morph stopped. ((AHHH! I have feathers!!)) Her voice was thought-speak.

((It's ok, Loren, I promise. Just keep morphing. See? It's real. Come on. You can do it.)) I encouraged her as she continued to morph.

Marco and Loren were morphing at the same rate now, both shrinking. And then, Loren's eyesight returned. ((Tobias? Tobias, I can see!))

((Great. Can you fly? Cause we are hauling butt out of here.)) I flapped off the bookshelf and watched as Loren lifted off the ground. Marco grabbed the drawstring bag in his talons and flew towards the front door that we had left open.

The three of us blew out of the front door and headed for the woods. ((Tobias, I'm flying! In the air!)) Loren's tone was exultant and she did an aerial three-sixty, whooping and hollering.

We entered the woods and Toby slid down from a tree to meet us. I perched on a tree branch and Loren landed on one just below me. Marco came to rest on Toby's forehead blade. Loren didn't seem that surprised to see a Hork-Bajir.

((Hork-Bajir. I know you.)) Loren tilted her head slightly and stepped sideways on the branch.

((She knows Hork-Bajir??)) Marco's voice shrilled in my head. ((Tobias, man, are you sure she's not infested?))

((From your dreams?)) I asked Loren, choosing to ignore Marco. Loren nodded her hawk head.

((Yes. I remember Hork-Bajir. The name, what they look like. But that's all. Nothing else. I'm sorry.))

((It's ok. This is Toby. She kind of leads the free Hork-Bajir in the valley we're going to. But for now, we've gotta move. We may not have much time.)) I flapped up into the air and circled, waiting for Marco and Loren to join me.

Marco's voice was hesitant. ((I got a bad feeling about this, Tobias, something I've missed. I just think I need to be somewhere else. You and Toby got this. I'm gonna go check on Jake, make sure everything's all right with Tom. You ok with that?))

((Yeah, that's good, Marco. We'll see you at the Valley later.)) I landed back on the tree branch as Marco dropped the bag at Toby's feet and took off into the air. He winged his way across the woods and was soon lost from view.

((You ready, Toby?)) I asked, peering at the young Hork-Bajir.

"I am ready, friend Tobias. Are you ready?"

((Let's go.))

And then, with my mom in a red-tailed hawk's body right behind me, we started to fly and run. We made it two steps before the barking started and a dog ran out of the trees in front of us. I sighed. It was Champ.

((Champ!)) Loren cried. ((Champ, go home. Go home, boy.))

The dog wasn't buying it. He stood there, snarling and snapping at Toby, who just looked at him.

I sighed. ((Toby, knock him out. We'll take him with us.))

Before Loren could protest, the Hork-Bajir seer bounded forward and slammed a fist into the side of Champ's head. The dog dropped like a stone and Toby picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

((He'll be ok, Loren. Now can we go?))

So we hauled butt out of there, two birds, a Hork-Bajir and an unconscious dog. Nothing odd about that picture. Nothing odd at all.

**Author's Note: So how did I do with Tobias? I hope you guys liked it ok. Now in the next chapter they all meet up at the valley and see what happened to everyone else. Please READ AND REVIEW!! Thanks to those that have reviewed!!!**


	9. The Odor

I was getting seriously exhausted. Birds of prey, like my osprey and Jake's peregrine falcon, are not meant to fly long distances. That's kinda why Tobias, Ax and I had to acquire ducks when we went to find the governor. We were not about to have to work our way across the state. Ducks do it easy. New plan.

((Hey, Jake-o, I've got an idea.)) I flapped madly for a few minutes, trying to get a little altitude. Jake was a couple of miles away from me, trying to make it look like we were just two completely random birds out for a completely random flight. Completely natural.

Jake's thought-speak sighed in my head. ((Marco, does this idea have purpose? Or is this another one of your 'we-should-acquire-a-private-jet' kind of idea?))

Ouch. That stung. I'll have you know that when I suggested we acquire a private jet, I wasn't meaning literally. I just meant we should get a private jet, perhaps illegally, a couple of Baywatch girls as flight attendants, and go places in style. No one liked my idea. ((I'm hurt, Jake. I can't believe you think so lowly of my ideas. I am the master planner. Heck, face it. I'm just the master. And this idea is genius. Genius.)) If I'd had hands right then, I'd have patted myself on the back. I tried to do it with talons. Didn't quite work.

((Just tell me your plan, Marco. As long as it doesn't involve bugs, I'm game.)) The peregrine falcon folded its wings tight against its body and plummeted a few feet, very fast. It makes him look really cool actually 'cause he's just this gray blur streaking towards the ground. Kinda scares the poo out of unsuspecting birds. I almost got creamed once by a peregrine trying to attack me. Scared me peeless. Anyway, Jake's dive was cool until I saw him laboring to get height again. Then it was funny.

((Enjoying the workout, Big Jake?)) I laughed. ((Not so cool doing a dive when you've got to make it back to the top, is it?)) I couldn't help myself. I kept laughing. After about two minutes of shameless laughing, I gathered my composure – or as much of it as I could find – and told him my idea. ((So remember how whenever we needed to travel long distances, we had to get creative? Flies on planes, stowing away on boats and jumping overboard to morph dolphin and swim, giant squid, and so much flapping. Dude, when we went on a mission across the street, I rejoiced. Still insane but a 'my own backyard' kind of insane. Now here we are again, back to the crazy flapping and crazy missions. Dude. All I'm saying is let's go duck. Ducks rule in long-distance. Duck.))

((I'll…think…about…it…)) Jake's thought-speak was strained as he flapped madly. He was still several feet below me when he spoke again. ((How much…further is…it to the…Valley?))

((Well, I don't know, do I? Just gotta let go and fly and we'll find it.)) _Let go and fly, my butt. I sound like Tobias or some crazy old hermit._ Nevertheless, I tried to stop thinking – a hard thing for me to do – and let the bird mind take over. And, as I kept methodically pumping my wings, I just enjoyed the scenery. The trees down below, the small river winding its way through the forest, a deer and two fawns that emerged from the treeline and ducked their heads to graze. My osprey eyes could make out a school of fish in the river. I did a lazy circle in the air, losing altitude slowly and not caring, and saw Jake a couple hundred yards away from me.

Then, suddenly, the Valley was spread out below us. There was no distinction that I could see from the forest around us and the clearing directly below. It just sort of appeared. Poof. Man, sometimes I hate the Ellimist, but the dude sure does know how to put on a good show. There were Hork-Bajir spread out all over the valley floor below us, some in trees, some walking on the ground. But I didn't see any humans. No Rachel, no Cassie, no Tobias. I did see my Mom but she was engaged in conversation with a Hork-Bajir.

((Do you see Tom or Ax? Or Jara or Ket?)) Jake wheeled in the air above the Valley, his falcon eyes trained on the ground. The hopeful tone in his thought-speak told me that he was worried his brother and his guards wouldn't have made it, that something had gone wrong. Truth be told, I was a little apprehensive too. But since when has the truth ever needed to be told?

That's when I spotted the flash of blue down in the Valley. And, since Hork-Bajir don't usually wear clothes or the blue bands of shock troops, I deduced that it must be our friendly neighborhood Andalite. ((Hey, Ax-Man, that you? You look at home down there with the other aliens.))

((No, Marco, this isn't my home. I have my scoop, remember? Although I could put another television here in the Valley and then we could watch _The Young and the Restless_ even when we are here. Is that not a good plan?)) I could see one of Ax's stalk eyes twist to look up at us.

Jake swooped towards the ground and I followed, mentally rolling my eyes at the Andalite's comment. Seriously. Whose bright idea was it to get the guy a television? Right. Probably mine. Anyway…I landed in front of Ax and began to demorph right away. My beak was sucked back into my head as lips and a nose appeared. The feathers faded away to be replaced by pink skin and my morphing outfit. Suddenly, I shot up to my normally average height. I turned my head to see Jake as a tiny human. Everything had changed about him except his size and the fact that he had a pair of lips on the end of his beak.

"Honey? Honey I shrunk the bird-kid." I laughed and pointed at Jake. Just then, Jake began to grow as his beak disappeared.

"Haha, Marco. Very funny." Jake turned to Ax. "You guys made it okay? My parents, Tom? They're here?" I could hear the hope ringing in his voice. Thought about making a crack about it. Decided now wasn't the time. Instead, I waited to see what Ax would say.

((Yes, Prince Jake, we made it okay. Your brother is tied up in Marco's parent's house, under guard by two Hork-Bajir. Your parents are with Marco's mother and father right now, in the meeting area. I believe they are still, as you would put it, freaked out.)) Ax's tail twitched slightly and he turned one stalk-eye to look at me while he kept his other three eyes trained on Jake.

Jake nodded. "I'll go talk to them. Does Tom's Yeerk seem to be close to starving yet, Ax, or do you think it's got time yet?" Even as he spoke, Jake was walking away. I stared at his retreating back for a moment and then started after him.

"Hang on, Jake! Wait a second. Don't you want to know about the others before you go off to check on your family? What if something happened to one of the others?" I laid my hand on Jake's shoulder but he shook it off. He turned to face me and I was surprised by the hardness, the coldness that I saw in his expression.

"You want to know about the others, Marco? Fine. You find out. Me? I'm going to check on my parents. You know what happened to me the last time, Marco? I didn't get my family out. My mom and dad? Infested. Tom? Killed. Your family? Fine, living happily ever after. Rachel's family? Happily ever after. Tobias and his mom, Cassie and her parents? Happily ever after. When do I get my happily ever after, Marco? When? I'll tell you when. Now. So get out of my way." He turned and strode off. I let him get about two paces away before I jogged after him and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him back towards me.

His fist came up like he was going to punch me but I laughed. "You gonna hit me, big Jake? Listen, pal, I don't know what your deal is but you need to chill out. I'm glad you got your parents back, ecstatic even. I really love your family and I've been in this to save Tom from the beginning. So, yay, we saved Tom, I'm super happy. But you can't check out now. I don't give a crap about your happily ever after. And I'm sure I don't even need to correct you when you said Rachel's family had a happily ever after. Remember what you did to your cousin, Jake? Her family didn't _ever_ have a freakin' happily ever after. Neither did Tobias. _Everyone_ wants a freakin' happily ever after this time, Jake. Not just you. But you, you man are the leader. You're the one everyone looks to. You're the one who needs to care about the others. Care about your family. But care about everyone else too. Cause I'm not doing it for you."

Ax was keeping out of the conversation but his tail was twitching uncontrollably, twitching this way and that way. It almost looked like he was trying to decide if he should use his tail blade on Jake or me or both. There was a long moment of silence when Jake just stared at me and I glared back at him, unwilling to be the first to break.

Then he shoved my hand off of his shoulder and stuck his own finger in my face. "Listen, Marco. I'm sick of your crap. You think it was easy for me after the war with no family? Having sent my cousin to her death and ordered her to kill my brother? You think it was easy for me to just try and fade into obscurity? Knowing that I was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Yeerks, all the Auxiliary Animorphs, Rachel and Tom?" He breathed out a short laugh. "Yeah. Okay. This is my chance, Marco! My chance to have what you had after the war the first time. This is my chance to have my family back. And I'm not gonna blow it. You know what? _You_ be leader. I'm sick of the decisions. I don't want a second chance at making the big decisions. I don't want to send people to their deaths again. I'm done. Leave me alone with my family, Marco. Just leave me alone."

Jake turned again and started to walk away. Just then, a Hork-Bajir shouted from the edge of the Valley, right where the cleared area ends and the forest begins. I whirled around to see what was wrong and heard the rustling of leaves behind me as Jake stepped up to my shoulder. For all his talk, he was still anxious to see what was going on.

Six figures stepped out of the treeline. Two were small, two were slightly taller than me, one was slightly taller than those two and one was huge. I squinted but couldn't make out who the people were so decided the only sensible thing to do was walk closer. I could pick out the sounds of Jake's footfalls right behind me and smiled to myself. _He can't just walk away. It doesn't work that way for him._ The closer I got, the easier it was to see the people entering the Valley. One was a Hork-Bajir I didn't recognize, another was a woman who looked familiar but I couldn't place. Two were young, maybe nine or ten, both with long blonde hair. They looked just like the slightly taller girl I recognized as Rachel, which must make the woman her mother, Naomi.

"Rachel!" I called, waving at her. I know, I know, Marco excited to see Rachel? Crazy, right? Don't worry, I wasn't going crazy. I just had this feeling that something was going to go wrong and I was glad to see at least one other family make it to the valley okay.

She waved back with one hand, her other hand resting on Sara's shoulder. Her mom was looking around like she was in a dream and Jordan's attention seemed to jerk from one Hork-Bajir to the next and then…she saw Ax. And screamed.

Rachel waved her hand in the air. "Jordan, Jordan, it's ok! He's a friend, the Andalite I was telling you about, remember?" She laid her free hand on Jordan's shoulder. "Geez, you don't freak out at a bladed hobgoblin but you do at a four-legged blue deer-man? It's okay. He's a friend."

Ax walked closer to Jordan and ducked his head. He brought his tail close to the ground and folded his arms across his chest. I got the feeling he was trying to appear non-threatening. ((My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I will not hurt you. It is nice to meet you, sisters of Rachel.))

While Ax introduced himself to Rachel's family, Rachel approached Jake and myself. "Hey, guys." She looked at Jake. "You get your family out?" He nodded. Rachel pressed for more information. "Tom, too?"

"Yeah, he got 'em. I see you got your family." I noted, pointing at Rachel's stricken mother. "Your mom looks real thrilled to be here. She didn't take to the 'I'm the mother of Xena' thing?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Marco. She's here, isn't she?" Then she sneered. "Of course, I did have to threaten to take Jordan and Sara and leave her to get killed before she actually came. And, no, she's not happy about it. But she's here." Rachel looked around. "Where's Cassie and Tobias?"

((Above you, oh fearless leader, Xena, Marco.)) A new voice entered the conversation just as Toby Hamee loped out of the forest, a drawstring bag in one hand and dog under her other arm. The bag I knew contained the blue box. I sighed in relief. The line was starting to straighten out as all the unknown elements were revealed. I hadn't known for sure if the blue box would make it safely to the Valley. Man, was I glad to see that it was. The Hork-Bajir dumped Champ at Jordan and Sara's feet and the two instantly fell to their knees, petting and rubbing the dog's fur until he woke up and sat up with a bark.

"What? I don't get a nickname?" I complained, looking up to see two birds floating above us. They seemed to be identical. Loren and Tobias.

"Like what?" Rachel shot at me. "Shorty? Munchkin? Mush-for-brains?"

"Stop it, stop it. You're going to make me blush." I waved lazily at her, as if brushing off her insults. Tobias and Loren came to land on a tree branch above us and I turned slightly to have a better look at them. "Hey there, Mommy Tobias. It's nice to meet you again."

((You were the other one there, weren't you? The one who put my dog outside and told me he'd had to take a hike?)) Loren's thought-speak voice was thoughtful and I slowly stepped sideways, out from below her. ((You better be glad he was still outside when we left or I'd be really angry right now.))

I shrugged. "Whatever. Listen, you guys going to morph or sit around in your bird bodies for the rest of your lives?" I realized a second after I said it that it might not have been the most tactful thing I could have said.

((This is me for the rest of my life.)) Tobias's voice was sad but Loren fluttered over to him and rested her wing on his back. Now there's something you don't see every day. Hawk comforting hawk. Weird.

Jake opened his mouth to say something but Ax's thought-speak interrupted him. ((Actually, Tobias, that is something I have been thinking about for a while, my _shorm_. I have wondered sometimes what would happen if you were to get stuck in another body. Not your hawk's form but another form.))

Tobias didn't even let him finish. ((Ax, I think we've been over this. If I get stuck again, I'm a _nothlit_ for good. No more morphing, no more fighting. No more Animorph for me. And you all know I won't let that happen. Why are you even wondering about that?))

Obviously Tobias is a little sore about that subject. Ax huffed slightly and scuffed his hoof in the dirt before answering. ((Because you did not let me finish. As I was saying, I have often wondered what would happen if you were to morph, say, an Andalite and then overstay the two-hour limit. You would be trapped as an Andalite, of course, but most Andalites have the morphing power. Would you then conceivably have the morphing power?))

No one spoke for a moment. Then Rachel threw her arms around Ax. "Ax, you're a genius! Of course! It's the perfect solution! Tobias, you can morph Ax and become an Andalite! Then you'll have your morphing powers back but you won't be a hawk anymore! This is what you want!"

Tobias' voice was sharp. ((And how is that any better than I have it now? I still wouldn't be a human; I wouldn't be someone you could be with, Rachel. I would still be trapped. Besides, Ax, you're not born with the morphing power, right? Even Andalites have to use the _Escafil_ _Device_ to become morph-capable. So it wouldn't be there if I morphed you, right?))

Ax shook his head slowly. ((We did have a class at the Academy on the irregularities of the _Escafil Device_ but I was not paying much attention. It was a large class and there was this-))

I cut him off, laughing. "A female, we know. She was just so drop-dead, you couldn't take your eyes off of her, isn't that right?"

((No, Marco, she was very much alive. But she was very pretty and I could not keep focused in class. It is possible I missed something. Though I do remember my teacher saying something about the _Escafil Device_ altering your DNA. So it is possible that the device mutates your DNA to where if you were to acquire an Andalite with the morphing technology and become a _nothlit_, you would still be able to morph. But I do not know for certain. It would have to be tested.))

Jake sighed. "Too bad there's no way to test it without overstaying the time limit. Not exactly how I want to find out whether or not Ax's theory is true. Now come on, Loren, you'll want to demorph, you don't want to push the time limit. Tobias, once everyone's here, we'll have a meeting, so if you want to let Toby know – hey," he said suddenly, "has anyone seen Cassie or her parents?"

Rachel shook her head. "Nope. But her farm is the furthest out, it makes sense she'd be the last one back. Still…"

There was an awkward silence after that as no one said what they were thinking. So I said it. "She should be here by now. I don't think anything has happened or would have happened but maybe Tobias should fly out and see if he can meet Cassie and her parents half-way, maybe give Cassie a break from trying to explain the whole 'I-can-turn-into-animals' thing. You think, big Jake?" I knew he didn't want to make decisions anymore but he was the leader. The only way to get him to do what he had to do was force him. Jake just shrugged. I looked at Tobias and rolled my eyes. "Oooookay. I'll make the call. Tobias, you fly towards Cassie's farm and see if you catch them along the way. But hang on, I'll morph wolf and come with you. See what that nose can sniff out." I turned to Rachel. "You might want to get your family comfortable; we'll be back in a jiff." I had already begun the morph to wolf and, by the time Jake spoke, I was more wolf than human.

"Find her, Marco. Find her and bring her back. We'll talk about…well, you know what, when you get back. But find her, Marco. Please."

((Come on, Jake.)) I tried to make a joke. ((Cassie and her parents walking in the woods? They've probably come across a den of skunks they have to save. Seriously. We'll be back soon.))

Tobias flapped up into the air and I raced off through the trees. I kept an eye on the red-tailed hawk flying a few feet ahead of me since he knew the way to Cassie's farm and I didn't. Finally, tired of the silence, I decided to make small-talk.

((So…your mom seems pretty cool.)) I said lamely. ((We didn't really get to hang out, me and her, the last time we saved her, you know. Maybe my Mom and me and you and your Mom could, get dinner or something.))

((You're worried, aren't you?)) Tobias seemed so sure of what he was saying and I wondered how he had figured out I was worried sick about Cassie.

I tried to force my wolf legs to go faster but I was already running in a full-out sprint. ((Yeah, man, I'm worried. Her family lives the most out of town of any of us. She would have been the last one to reach them and tell them what was going on. What if the Yeerks figured out what was going on and was there to meet her? Then what? What if we run right into a battle? You think the dynamic duo of Wolf-Man and Bird-Boy are going to do much damage?))

Tobias swooped low, just over my head and did a barrel-roll. ((I'm worried too, man. Something just doesn't feel right. But if you think we're going to get into a battle, stop and go gorilla. Do what you think you need to do, Marco.))

Shaking my wolf head, I plunged my nose towards the ground and kept running. ((No, man, we need the – ugh! What the crap is that smell???))

A pungent odor had just assailed my nostrils. I couldn't place the smell but it was the most disgusting thing I had ever smelled. Worse than Jake's gym socks. Guh-ross. ((Dude! Tobias! What died?))

There was a pause. Then Tobias's thought-speak, very soft, filled my head. ((Dude…there's Cassie's barn.))

And there was the line, filling my mind. The line that made all life, for everyone, hell.


	10. The Call

Tobias wheeled in the air. I could see him opening his wings and catching the wind, using it to soar down into the trees. The smell was growing more and more powerful as I raced closer to Cassie's barn. I didn't want to go to Cassie's barn. I wanted to turn and run, run as fast as my wolf legs could carry me. Run and not know what had happened.

But then Tobias' thought-speak filled my head. ((Oh, man, Marco. Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man.)) And that's when I knew what I would find as soon as I cleared the forest. I knew the sight that would greet me. It would be the sight that had always haunted my brain, though instead of my family, it would be Cassie's. I pushed my wolf body for more speed, trying not to breathe. That was hard though, breathing turns out to be pretty important.

Then I cleared the trees and saw the bodies. Three of them, lying at the other side of the clearing. Tobias was on the ground beside them, rapidly morphing to human. I braked and came in for a landing beside him, demorphing before my talons even gripped dirt.

The changes came quickly and, as my stomach became human, I heaved. I always wondered if it was possible to throw up with a beak. It is. Tobias was almost fully human now and he hobbled on giant talons to the first body. By the time he knelt in the grass, he was human. He whipped his head to look at me, three-quarters demorphed.

"She's dead, Marco. Neck slit." Tobias' voice was devoid of emotion. Comes from being a bird. Sometimes he forgets to make emotional connections.

Tears, unbidden, rushed to the corners of my eyes. Don't get me wrong. I don't love Cassie like Jake does. But she was an Animorph, one of us. She'd been a friend for these past few years as we fought. And yeah, she was a crazy tree-hugger, killer with a conscious but she was my friend. And now she was dead. I gave myself a mental smack on the back. Shoulda seen it. I'd seen that Jake might be in trouble. Shoulda figured out Cassie's predicament because she lived farther out. Belatedly, I realized Tobias was talking to me.

"-maybe she morphed? I see a Hork-Bajir over there, maybe there was a fight?" Tobias seemed to realize I wasn't paying any attention to him at all. "Marco! Marco, dude, I asked where you think Cassie went. Are you listening to me?"

It took a second for that to register. "Wait," I asked, "are you saying Cassie's not dead? I thought you said her throat was slit."

"No, that's her Mom. Her parents are lying here dead and a Chee has been destroyed. But Cassie's gone. You think they took her? That's what they've been trying to do to us for a long time – capture and infest us. You think the Yeerks got her?" Now there was some emotion in Tobias' voice, pain, fear, sorrow.

I shook my head. I couldn't let this get to me. Already, I could see the line in my head beginning to waver. I was letting emotion get in the way of seeing the line. It's like I told you before, one day kids will read about me in a US History class. I'll be right in there with Sherman and his 'total war' thing. And some smart-aleck kid will look at me, read about me hearing about my friend's family dying and shunting away all emotion and he'll say, 'That Marco dude? He was cold.' Let me tell you something, kid. I'm not cold. I just want to survive.

After a quick glance at the smaller form lying on the grass, I stood up and walked over to Tobias where he knelt between Cassie's parents. He was morphing back to his bird form – maybe he didn't like the emotions his human body was feeling. One glance told me the guy was right. They were definitely dead. And that led me back to his question – did the Yeerks have Cassie? I didn't think so. Don't ask me why. Maybe I just liked being naïve for the moment.

((Marco, man, what's the problem? Why are you looking like that? What's going on? We need a plan, we need to do something. Make the call, Marco. Do we go straight back to Jake? Look for Cassie? Bury her parents? What?))

I still didn't answer him. I was trying to figure out what to do. He was waiting for me to make a decision, to make the call. But I couldn't. I couldn't see past the fact that I'd screwed up. Yeah, I'm not Jake. I'm not Cassie. I'm not some moralizing 'oh poor me, I made a mistake' kind of guy. But, for just an instant, this was too much. It couldn't be figured out with a joke. My idea, my plan and three people – four if you count the Hork-Bajir – were dead. Maybe five. Where was Cassie? That was the big one. If the Yeerks had her, we were dead.

((Marco! This is not the time to freeze! Come on, dude, what would Jake do? Be the leader!)) Tobias' thought-speak was a scream in my head. He was perched on a tree branch, fluttering his wings nervously. His golden eyes seemed to stare right through me.

_What would Jake do?_ Jake would go ballistic if he were here. He loved Cassie. He'd forget all reason, all thoughts of security, of survival and go after her. If the Yeerks had her, they wouldn't for long. It wouldn't matter to him who got hurt as long as he found her. He was already cracking. No, I couldn't do what Jake would do. I had to be ruthless. I had to be cold. I had to survive.

I started to morph, quickly, back to wolf. Tobias didn't say anything. He thought he knew what I was doing. He was wrong.

Long, jagged wolf teeth filled my human mouth. I fell forward onto all fours as my leg bones twisted and my hands and feet became paws. As soon as I had my wolf senses, I trotted over to the bodies and sniffed. It was hard for me to pick out individual scents at first but, finally, I pushed past the smells of death to the smell of another wolf.

((Tobias! You see wolf prints anywhere? I think Cassie went wolf. Wait…I'm sure she went wolf. You see anything?)) I circled in the dirt, looking for the paw prints I knew would be there. My wolf nose could smell another of its kind. I hoped, from the air, Tobias would be able to see the prints.

He flapped into the air and wheeled in a tight circle. There was a moment of silence. Then, his thought-speak exploded in my head. ((Yes! Marco, man, sometimes you're a genius! I've got wolf prints appearing out of nowhere and heading into the woods over there.))

As soon as his 'Yes' entered my brain, I willed my body to demorph. I prayed for the changes to come faster and faster, more and more rapidly. At the moment I became 90% human, I focused on another of my favorite morphs, the osprey. My fur finished dissolving as feathers imprinted themselves on my arms. My snout turned into a beak. I caught a glimpse of Tobias landing again on the branch. Finally, the morph was complete and I flapped madly to get off the ground. I landed on the branch below Tobias.

((Ok, let's go.)) I said to him. I gotta admit, I was exhausted. It had been a long day and I'd just gone bird to human to wolf to human to bird in the space of five minutes. And morphing tires you out.

Tobias jerked his head. ((Good. The paw prints went that way.)) He lifted off of the branch and flapped his wings. He headed towards the woods. I flapped too, but I turned and headed back the way we'd come.

((No, Tobias. You told me to make a decision and I am. We're not going after her.)) I felt a pang of sadness but pushed it aside. ((We've gotta get back o the Valley and tell Jake. Move ahead with the plan.))

Tobias had gained some altitude but now he spiraled back towards me. ((What?)) His voice was enraged. ((We can't just leave her! She could be hurt or worse! Jake would never do something so heartless. Come on, Marco!))

I kept flapping to get altitude as he spoke but when he said Jake wouldn't do this, I snapped. ((I know Jake wouldn't! Jake would morph tiger and go after Cassie. But we can't do that, Tobias, no matter how much we want to. We have to look at the bigger picture. Cassie morphed wolf. She's not hurt or captured. And eventually, she'll show up. She's a fighter. She won't quit, no matter what. But we cannot go after her.)) I paused. If Tobias refused to follow me, I didn't know what I'd do. Was this how Jake always felt? If it was, I didn't like it. I liked being the Joker. Not so much Batman. I made my thought-speak quiet. ((Are you with me, dude?))

Tobias didn't respond for a long minute. Then, his tone heavy, he said, ((Ok. Ok, let's go.))

Then we both flapped our way back to the Valley. It didn't take as long this time, perhaps we were flying faster, or perhaps the Ellimist realized the gravity of the situation and showed us the valley quicker than usual. Whatever the case, we couldn't have been flying for more than twenty minutes when the Valley appeared below us. I steeled myself for the explaining I was going to have to do to Jake and Rachel and even Ax.

We landed smoothly, Tobias in a tree and me on the ground. I was demorphing even before I had folded my wings against my body. Ax was the only one I saw but, when Jake and Rachel came running out of the trees seconds later, I knew he had told them in thought-speak that we were back. This time, even the demorphing seemed to not take as long. I was human in less than two minutes. Then I stood there, facing two humans, an Andalite and a hawk. Tobias was looking into the sky.

"Well?" Jake asked. "Did you find her? What's going on?"

I took a deep breath. Better to just get it out in a rush and go from there. I was sure there would be questions. "We were too late. Her parents, the Chee that was with her and the Hork-Bajir were dead. Cassie wasn't there. But-"

That was as far as I got. Rachel gasped, Jake blinked rapidly and then took a step towards me. "But where is Cassie? Did you go after her? Find her? See what had happened to her?"

Tobias decided it was time to throw in his two cents. I didn't think he would be on my side but even the Bird-boy surprises me sometimes. ((She had morphed to wolf; we saw paw prints appear out of the blue and head off into the woods. So she wasn't killed and she was probably under her own power.))

Jake's voice was deadly calm, the kind of calm where you know if he doesn't get the answer he wants, he will explode. "So what did you do, Marco? You were in charge, weren't you?" He stared at me, as if he was staring _through_ me. I knew already that he wasn't going to like my answer.

"I decided to leave there and come straight back here, okay, Jake? I know what you would have done, I know you think it's cold but it was the right thing to do. Cassie was on her own, there was no signs she'd been followed and she can take care of herself! The most important thing we have to do now is move on with the plan, don't you understand?" I could see Rachel subtly changing. I hadn't thought of that, of the fact that she, too, would think I had abandoned someone she cared deeply about. I focused on the gorilla, hoping that it wouldn't come to a fight. "There was no other choice! I knew what you would do, now, and made the call!"

Jake didn't like my answer. "You _left_ her?! How could you just turn your back on a fellow Animorph? How could you not try and find her? Nothing is more important than the safety of our team, Marco! You should know that!" He glanced at Rachel, who now resembled a human girl with shaggy brown fur and railroad spikes extending from her fingers. He didn't tell her to stand down. "Marco, man, the war has changed you. You're cold now. You don't care about anything, anyone. How could you leave her?"

I knew I was going to lose it in seconds. If it wasn't for the dang line, I'd be fine. Rachel doesn't see the line, she just sees the war. The next fight. Jake sees the line but, this time, he wasn't ready to make the sacrifices he had to in order to keep the line straight. He was determined no one die this time and that would kill us all. Ax sees the line; he's an Andalite. But he won't make any decisions on his own. Tobias…who knows what Tobias sees anymore?

"You can't fight a defensive war, Jake! You can't fight a war where your one goal is for no one to die. I know you don't like the decisions you made at the end of the war but you can't base your do-over on that fact. Just hours ago, you were done making decisions. You told me to make the call. And now, now that I've made the right decision, but one you don't like, you're all ready to take the reins again? I don't think so. I'm the only one who can see the ends, the means and the justification for both. You would have gone after Cassie, regardless of what impact that would have had. You would have been blinded by your affection for Cassie. She made her choice when she ran off to God knows where."

Rachel was almost fully grizzly now. Her words now reverberated in my head. ((Her parents were killed, you unfeeling creep! What do you think she should have done? Decided the war meant more than her mother and father and came back here, all happy-go-lucky, let's kill some Yeerks?! I'll rip you limb from limb!))

I held up my hands and backed away from the raging grizzly bear. But then, to my surprise, Tobias came to my defense. ((Rachel, chill. Marco made the right call. We can't afford to take the time to comfort Cassie. Marco knows that. He's been forced to make hard decisions regarding his family before. This was the right call to make and you know it, Jake, Rachel. Cassie will show up. Until then, we need to do what we need to do. We don't have time to wallow in blame.))

There was a long moment of absolute silence. I could hear a Hork-Bajir stripping bark a few yards away. Jake and I stared at each other. I was hoping Ax would protect me if Rachel attacked. I wasn't going to look away first. Finally, Jake unclenched his jaw and loosened his fists.

"I still don't like it. I still don't think you shouldn't have at least tried to find her. But I'll admit that, in the situation, it was probably the right call. A harsh call, a ruthless decision, but the right one." Jake grimaced. "So, what do we do next?"

"All I'm saying is, I just want to be the Joker again. I'm done being Batman." I glanced ruefully at Tobias. "And I know what we need to do next. It's insane. In. Sane. But it'll work. It'll hurt the Yeerks. And it'll put us on the right path to getting the Auxiliary Animorphs."

As Rachel demorphed and the group broke up, I went to the cabin where my parents and I were living. I found a book my Dad, a war buff, had brought with him. It was a book about the Civil War. I found the chapter on Sherman and total war. For a long time, I just sat and stared at his picture. He looked like a normal guy. A normal guy, like I hoped I would look like someday. But he had been responsible for so much cold-hearted destruction. I stared into his face.

_Did you see the line too? Did you know that sometimes, the ends do justify the means? Did you…_

**Author's Note: After a brief hiatus, The Line is back. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I liked it. I know Marco is getting perhaps a bit AU but he's just becoming more sure of his capabilities I think. Not too AU, I hope. **

**Please, read and review! Let me know if you like it or not!**


	11. The Difference

I didn't suggest anything to anyone for a couple of hours. Figured I would bide my time, wait to see if tempers would simmer down some. Don't get me wrong; I'm not scared of anyone. My gorilla could take Rachel's grizzly any day of the week. I just didn't want to get into something I couldn't get out of without seriously injuring anyone.

Finally, though, I got tired of sitting around staring at Sherman's picture or idly flicking through the one novel I'd brought with me, _Willing to Die_. But I wasn't ready to talk to Jake, not yet. So, after a couple of hours, I got off my butt and went outside.

Didn't really have a plan beyond just walking around but eventually my path led me to the small hut where Tom was being held. I hesitated for just a minute outside the door before pushing it open and heading inside.

Two Hork-Bajir stood guard on either side of the young man tied to a chair. I nodded to the one I recognized, Ren, and the one I didn't. They didn't acknowledge me in any way. But that was okay – they weren't the ones I had come to see. Instead, I crouched down in front of the man roped to a chair.

"Hello, Tom. Yeerk. Whatever. How's it feel to know we finally got you?" I wanted him to look at me and I got my answer a moment later. He looked up and his face was twisted into a mask of anger.

"Human boy. There is no way you will win the war. You may have captured me but my people know where I am. They will come to rescue me and I will finally get to destroy this host's brother, as I have wanted to do for so many years!" The Yeerk was positively foaming at the mouth, something I found quite funny.

So I laughed. "Oh, yeah? Your people, find this valley? Not gonna happen. Now here's what I need from you – and I'll try to keep it simple so your parasite mind can keep up, kay? Tell me. What do you know of the _George Washington_?"

I watched his face very carefully and his reaction surprised me. There was genuine confusion there, no indication that he was trying to hide anything. "He was your first president."

_Great. Now we can proceed with my plan with no worries._ I stood and left, without another word to the prisoner. His Yeerk would die and then he'd be free and one of us again.

Now I just had to find Jake. Easier said than done. The guy wasn't exactly my biggest fan right then. But before I could really start looking for him, a commotion came from the west side of the valley. I could hear raised voices, shouts, and screams.

_Crap!_ I started to run and started to morph as I ran. My arms bulged out, coarse black hair erupted from every inch of my skin, my nose became huge and squashed. By the time I reached the crowd forming at the edge of the valley, I was fully gorilla.

((What's going on?)) My thought-speak was a shout but a controlled shout. I wasn't panicking, not yet. I didn't panic. That just wasn't me.

The figure on my right turned to face me and I was glad to see Tobias, in his human form. At least I knew he was more or less on my side – as much as we were taking sides in this argument. He glared at me with his eyes that he'd never remembered how to make kind. His mouth was a straight line and his arms were stiff at his side. I was sorta surprised he hadn't morphed but maybe he knew what was going on.

"A wolf limped into camp about three minutes ago. We assume it's Cassie but she won't say anything, won't talk to anyone. And we don't know where Jake is. Rachel's over there now but I don't think she's doing any good. Marco, you need to talk to her. She'll talk to you, probably."

Not sure I agreed with that but I made my way to the center of the group anyway. Rachel stood over a wolf crouched on its haunches, practically yelling at Cassie.

((Chill, Rachel. Let me try.)) I stopped a few feet away from Cassie and fixed Rachel with a glare. For several seconds, Rachel didn't move. ((Go find Jake or something. Let me see if I can get her to talk to me. Please.)) I don't know why I said please. I'm not a please and thank you kind of guy. But hey, worth a shot, right?

After a moment, Rachel stalked away, muttering something I didn't catch. I didn't care. I focused my attention on Cassie, on the silent wolf. I didn't know what to say so I just started talking.

((I'm sorry, you know. Sorry for…well, I'm just sorry. I should have seen it. I saw the Yeerks watching Jake's house but it never crossed my mind to worry about you. And then, me and Tobias headed out to check when you didn't report in and there were your parents and I just…well, I'm sorry. I wish I could change it, make it better-))

Cassie spoke and interrupted me. I could tell, from the lack of response from everyone else, that she was speaking only to me. I was the only one hearing her thought-speak. ((Make it better. That's what I thought was going to happen. Get Rachel back. Get another chance. It couldn't turn out _worse_, could it? We'd already had our share of loss. Surely this time we'd change it. Make it better.)) She laughed and the dry chuckle reverberated in my head and scared the pee out of me. This was _Cassie_ we were talking about! Where did this cynical girl come from?

((Cassie, we still have a chance to make it better. We can…we can save James and Collette and Kelly and Timmy. They don't have to die this time. We can make sure we survive, that Rachel survives.)) I didn't know, really didn't know what to say to her. I didn't know how to help her deal with this.

((Oh, Marco, you don't understand. These past two years, I've judged you. Judged you for your ruthlessness, judged you for your seeming lack of caring. But now, now I've _become_ you. I don't care how many more die, Marco. I don't care if I die. I just want to take as many of them as I can with me. They murdered, no they butchered my parents. I will have revenge, Marco.))

I felt like I'd just been sucker-punched in my big, squashed nose. Cassie, wanting revenge? That was crazy. She was the one with the conscience. She wasn't me. ((Cassie, you can't be serious. What about the innocents, the hosts? You're the one who cares. You're the one who is supposed to keep the rest of us human. You can't just abandon that.))

Cassie turned her wolf nose to me and bared her teeth. ((Oh, yeah? Watch me.))

Just then, a hole parted in the crowd and Jake rushed through, elation on his face and in his voice. "Cassie! Cassie, you're okay! I'm so glad you're okay and I'm so sorry about what happened but I'm just so glad you're alive."

Cassie drew back from him and stood to all four paws. ((Jake. Please. Just…don't, okay? I don't need love right now and I don't need special attention. I need to know how we're next going to hurt the Yeerks.))

Jake stopped dead. I saw the word 'What' form on his lips but no sound escaped his lips. ((She's changed, Jake. I'll explain later. For now, let me go ahead and tell my plan of what to do next, okay?)) Jake nodded and I glanced around to make sure everyone was there.

Tobias stood behind me, his mom beside him. Rachel and her sisters stood just behind them; her mom was nowhere to be seen and I didn't really care. Jake's parents sat on a tree log with my parents. And Ax was in his normal form, standing with Toby off to the side.

((We need to go get the Auxiliary Animorphs now. Then we'll go to the Governor. But we can't go to the Governor or anyone high up in power until we have backup. They know who we are. The Yeerks know we're human. But if we add more Animorphs now, more morphs running around wreaking havoc, how do they know those aren't Andalites?)) I almost held my breath as I waited for Jake to make a comment on my plan. First I was the Joker. Then Batman. Now I'm dang Captain America, making the plans, making the big calls. This was so not in the job description.

The moment of silence stretched out for a long time. Then Cassie spoke in wide-band thought-speak. ((More Animorphs, more opportunities to kill Yeerks. I like it. Let's go.))

I winced. Not the reply I wanted from her. I looked at Jake. He sighed. "Fine. We'll go. But not all of us. Marco, your plan, you go. I'll go. And Tobias. That's it. Rachel, you and Cassie stay here. Hold the fort. We'll be back soon."

I could see Cassie shift her weight and knew she would protest. But then, to my amazement, she didn't make a sound. Interesting. I started to demorph. "Ok, then. Let's rock and roll."

**Author's Note: Wow that was a long hiatus. And I know this chapter was short but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. We'll see. Please review!**


	12. The Promise

We knew where we were going. Tobias flew cover – where else would he be? Jake and I walked side by side. I didn't speak to him; he didn't speak to me. It wasn't that _I_ was mad at _him_, it was more like I was waiting for him to make the first move. He'd gone completely bonkers on me, not the other way around. So I waited and I waited and we walked and we walked and finally, I _had_ to say something.

"Captain America isn't nearly respected enough." I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. You can tell I've been doing a lot of boning up on my superheroes lately, can't you?

Jake turned to look at me. "Sorry, what?"

I kept my attention forward even as I spoke, knowing that if I didn't, I'd probably run into something or someone. And that was the quickest way to being spotted and discovered. "Captain America. Lately, ever since you got your family back, I've had to make the calls, bro. That made me feel like Batman. Like, in the past, I've been the Joker, right? Cracking jokes, being funny, but never making the hard choices. Now I am. Now I'm Batman. But now, it's gone past suggesting things to you or giving you my advice or whatever. At this point, I'm making the tough calls. Who to leave behind, where to go next, who to worry about and who not. Captain America had that to do too, when he led the Avengers. And people don't nearly respect him enough. I don't like this. I don't like worrying about morals or consequences. I don't like making decisions when I know all I see is the line. And now, with Cassie's conscience gone, I don't trust myself to not just use the ends to justify the means."

Jake interrupted me from saying anything else. "Her conscience gone? What do you mean? Why was she so _different_ earlier? What did she say to you?"

Now I stopped. We were in an alley, actually just around the corner and behind the children's home, and Tobias alighted on a fire escape above us. I figured we were pretty secure. "Jake, man, her parents were slaughtered in front of her. I don't know what exactly happened – you'd have to ask her. But she told me basically that she doesn't want to play by the rules anymore. She said that we were supposed to make things better not worse. Cassie…she's changed, Jake. She doesn't care about the means anymore, now. Now she's like me. Ruthless. Ends justify everything. Only worse. At least I try sometimes to think about the consequences. She just wants to hurt the Yeerks. We need to win this, Jake, and we need to win it now. Maybe she can get her old self back. Maybe not. All I know is that the team's conscience is gone. Maybe we can get it back – maybe not. We'll have to see. For now, let's get this show on the road."

There was a moment of hesitation and I didn't know if Jake would pursue the matter further or not. Sometimes he doesn't know when to drop things. But, luckily, he did drop it and moved on. "How are we doing this this time around?" he asked. "Magic show again? Pigeon that poops in your hand?"

I winced. Not my favorite memory. "No. Unless Tobias wants to pretend to be a pigeon."

((Pigeons. They're like flying carrion.)) Disgust was dripping from his thought-spoken words. Tobias doesn't like certain other types of birds. Jays, pigeons, crows. Etc. You can tell a lot about different species of birds just by hearing Tobias talk about them. He's got pretty strong emotions.

"Then let's just do this. We know the floor, we know their names, but we have to act like we don't know anything. For them, it's the first time. For us, second. So we can't assume they have any idea what's going on." Jake, sounding like his old self for just a minute, took over the reins.

"So it's kinda like a mind wipe? Ya know what I mean? Like you saw Wolverine Origins right? It's like Logan and he can't remember anything that's happened." I paused. "I gotta stop watching all these superhero movies."

Jake just smiled sadly. Tobias flapped his wings and led the way to the children's hospital a few buildings down. Then he flapped down to us and I held him under my coat. He didn't much like that but I figured none of the receptionists would let us in with a vermin-carrying hawk. He didn't much like me implying he carried vermin either but that didn't bother me.

I let Jake lead the way into the building. He headed straight for the elevator and I followed. When we got out on the floor where James lived, it was kinda surreal. One of those, haven't we been here before moments. Only we were the only ones who knew we'd been there before.

The two of us walked into the lobby and I recognized Kelly right off the bat. She was sitting in a chair, reading a book. There was no one else in the room. Jake didn't move. I didn't move. Tobias shifted in my hand but didn't make a sound.

Finally, Kelly looked up. "Yeah? Come to laugh at the less fortunate?"

_Dang. I'd forgotten how big this girl's attitude was._ "No. Actually, we're looking for James. Is he around, milady?"

Kelly's expression of pure scorn made me feel about two inches tall. I almost blurted out the whole thing right then. Set her right; serves her right for being a jerk. Then I decided not to. Wasn't my place. Have I mentioned I hate being responsible?

"Yeah _milord_," she said with utter disdain. "He's in his room. But I don't think he's going to want to talk to you. He's not really the kind of guy who talks to strange boys."

"He'll talk to us." Jake muttered as he headed off down the hall. I followed, the dutiful soldier in the general's wake. More like his faithful aide, ready to take over when he snaps. Man, I'm seriously regretting taking the Ellimist up on his offer.

We stepped into James' room one right after the other. Me behind Jake. _Oh, yeah. This should work just as well as it did the first time._

James looked up at us as soon as we entered. "Who are you? What do you want? If you're not here for a good reason, get out."

"Well, that's a good start." I stage-whispered to Jake. Jake scowled at me and then stepped forward, assuming his 'I'm in charge listen to me' look. I used to hate that look. Now it makes things seem a little more natural.

"James, we have to tell you something. Something big, something that will change your life. You're not going to believe it at first but then we're going to show you. And then, well, then you'll believe. But just promise me one thing. Promise me that you'll hear us out. Then you can toss us out or call security or whatever. But just hear what we have to say first. Promise?"

James looked at me. I shrugged, tilted my head towards Jake and tried one of my charming smiles. James just looked away. Guess the lady-killer smile really does work better on the ladies. After a long pause, James nodded.

Jake started to talk. I figured I would let him talk and interject where necessary. "The human race is being infested by alien parasites called-"

But James interrupted him. "Yeerks."

My world spun, I'm not even kidding. He wasn't supposed to know, how did he know? Thank you, Mr. All Powerful Let Me Mess With Your Head Ellimist, for throwing another screw into the mix!

Jake was in his face in an instant. "How do you know that?" he hissed.

Me, I was headed gorilla as fast as I could go. I had dropped Tobias to the ground and I didn't even care that my clothes would get shredded. There was really only one way he could know that and that was if he was a Controller. And if he was a Controller, we were all screwed. As soon as my snout squashed and my mouth was fully gorilla, I knew that I had my thought-speak and I directed my words directly to Jake's and only Jake's mind. ((Jake, buddy, why aren't you morphing? He's gotta be a Controller, he has to be! We're gonna have Hork-Bajir out the wazoo any minute.))

Jake shook his head minutely. "How do you know that?" he asked again. His voice was more controlled this time and now I was fully gorilla. James didn't seem to be fazed at all by seeing a cute boy turn into a monkey. Maybe he's nuts this time around.

James finally turned his attention back to Jake. "You wanna know how I know this? I know this because a little girl named Sara came to me a day ago and told me all about it. She told me about the Yeerks. She told me about the Hork-Bajir. And she told me that she had the power and that I had once had the power to turn into animals and fight this evil. Then she told me some Elly thing or something had turned back time to give us another chance. She couldn't say why we had been given another chance but she said that I would probably hear about it again soon. Now you show up telling me about parasites. I figured I should tell you what I already know before you go through your whole spiel again."

((Where is this Sara?)) I asked. James didn't seem fazed by the fact that I was talking in his head, either.

James didn't answer. Instead he rolled out of the room in his wheelchair. I looked at Jake while he was gone. ((This still smells bad. No one else is supposed to know about the do-over. No one else. Now some random girl we don't even know does? Nuh-uh. This smells foul.))

Tobias fluttered up from the ground and settled on the bedpost. ((You don't know that, Marco. Could be the Ellimist brought another into the know.)) The sound of returning wheels caused all of us to look towards the door.

Jake rolled back in with a slight, blonde girl on crutches behind him. I recognized her at once, but only vaguely. I remembered talking to her after the battle where Cassie brought the Auxiliary Animorphs to rescue us. After the battle where we lost the morphing cube. But that was it.

She looked from Jake to the gorilla to the hawk and back to Jake. "Hey, Jake. Good to see you again." Then she turned her gaze on me. "Marco, I presume? You did tell me your morph was a gorilla."

((Nice to see you, too, Sara. Now do you mind telling us how you know about all this? The Ellimist and the do-over and all that? Cause right now, I'm not real convinced you're not a Controller plant.)) I did my best to look menacing and understanding at the same time. Not real sure I succeeded just because gorillas don't do understanding all that well.

Sara laughed. "Of course. Let's see. I'll start at the beginning."

_The story she wove was one of sadness and heartbreak. But it made things a little more understandable. As the case may be, I'll tell you the story as if it were in her own thoughts. Without all the interruptions and he said, she saids. Enjoy._

_ We knew that we probably weren't going to survive. James had gotten us all together, even my group and we usually reported to Craig, not him. I mean, we all knew he was the boss man but we reported to either Craig or Erica, most times. But that's not important. What's important was what he told us._

_ "This is it, guys. We're going to morph now and meet up with General Doubleday and his troops on the way. I know you'll wonder why we aren't fighting but the battle isn't up to us. It's Jake and Marco, Tobias and Rachel, Cassie and Ax who have to fight now. But if we don't provide the distraction, their battle won't be won. So, if everything goes according to plan, we shouldn't have a problem," even I could tell he was lying, "but we'll just do our best anyway, okay? Ok. Let's rock and roll."_

_ My group followed Craig. We morphed, the five of us. I went straight to my favorite battle morph, the jaguar. It was fast, it was graceful and hey, it was gorgeous. My friend Thomas morphed his white tiger. Carolyn became her black bear. Lane was a cheetah. And Craig was an alligator. We were ready._

_ Our group fell into line with the others. James, a lion. Collette, a crocodile. Timmy, a bobcat. Kelly, a bull. Eventually, we met up with Doubleday and his soldiers. They looked scared to death. Kinda how we felt on the inside, I guess._

_ James kept trying to give us all these pep talks and whatever but it just made it worse. Like he was trying to make it easier for us when we died. Only he kept saying over and over that we weren't going to die because you guys were going to bleed the Dracon beam power from the ship so that it couldn't fire on us._

_ Then the ship started shooting. Kelly, she was one of the first to go. Got hit with a beam full-on and just fell over in the sand, dead. Then Lane and then Thomas. One by one, they were killing us all._

_ That's when I did something I have regretted ever since. I was near the back, anyway, I don't know why, that's just where I ended up. And I turned tail and ran. But I didn't run far, not really. I got far enough away to not register on any scanners they might have had and then I watched. I knew I was a coward and a failure and those were my friends dying but I couldn't make myself go back. I could only watch as the soldiers fell, one by one. As the animals that were my friends fell, one by one._

_ And then you guys got control, I guess and it was over. But I couldn't let anyone know I had survived. What would you guys think of me? Marco, you were always so cynical but I knew you'd hate me if I came back alive. And Jake, everyone talked about how your cousin died and all that. You'd have hated me too. So I faded into obscurity and made my life as miserable as it could be, trying to do penance for having failed. _

_ Then, a few days ago, this being appeared to me. He told me I had a chance for a do-over. I had the chance to redeem myself, to make things better. My friends would be alive, but might die again. That was okay with me. I don't want anyone to die, but at least if they die this time, I can die with them. So then I found myself back here. No one remembered but me. I told James the whole story but he just thought I was a nut. I told him you guys would come and when you did, for him to get me. He did and here I am._

Sara finished her story and looked at us. "I'm so sorry for running away. For failing when everyone else gave their lives. Please, can you ever forgive me?"

Jake didn't say anything. A muscle twitched in his cheek but he made no move towards the girl who had her head hung towards the ground.

_Great. Now I get to be the compassionate Wonder Woman too._ I knew this girl, I knew her. I knew what she must be feeling, had felt for two years. Slowly, I demorphed. My arms became skinny again. My face normal. My hands small. And, once I was myself again, I went to her and hugged her.

"It's okay, Sara. We're going to win again and this time, we won't lose anyone. I promise."

The line seemed to cringe at that. How could I promise anything? But I did and I stepped back and looked at Jake to see what he would do next.


	13. The Newbies

Jake took a deep breath and looked at James. "Well, if you've heard Sara's story, then you pretty much know what's going on. Got any questions?" He didn't look at Sara, not once. Didn't even glance her way and it took me a moment to figure out what was so wrong with that.

Yeah, near the end of the war, Jake had gotten more ruthless. He'd sacrificed all the Auxiliary Animorphs and his own cousin, after all. But that hadn't really taken away his compassion. He'd still felt bad about it and had still worried about other people. He was always the first one to make sure someone else was okay before he worried about himself. But now, now he wasn't even showing compassion for Sara. I know, she'd run away, but that didn't mean he could be a jerk to her. I sighed. I really wish I was still at my Malibu beach house right about now.

James shook his head slowly. "I mean she filled me in on the basics. Who the Yeerks are, what they're trying to do and how I have to be a leader. But I'm not sure I'm ready to be a leader, you know? How can I know that I'll do it right and not foul it up? It's obvious that things aren't going as you thought they would in your do-over already. Sara proves that. Why shouldn't I just say 'no' this time? Stay alive."

This kid was grinding my nerves already. Jake didn't say anything in response to his questions and Tobias hadn't seemed to keen on contributing anything at all so far. Once again, the ball fell to me. _How would they survive if I threw in the towel?_ I took a step towards James.

"You know what, pal? We _don't_ need you. I know you think we're going to beg on bended knees for the great and mighty James to join us, but that ain't gonna happen. We made another auxiliary Animorph before, David. He thought he was too valuable and started bossing us around, being a loose cannon. You know what we did to him? Made him a rat, _permanently_, and stranded him on a rock in the middle of the ocean. We didn't need him and we sure as hell don't need you." I heaved a deep breath and tried to make my voice calmer. "That doesn't mean we don't want you, man. You're good in a fight, at least you were. People want to follow you. You're a born leader. And you want to not be one of us so that you can stay alive? Let me tell you something. Just because you don't fight don't mean you won't die. If we lose," I didn't tell him that we knew that wouldn't happen, "you're as good as dead anyway. So what's it gonna be, James? You with us or not? 'Cause if not, than Sara can take your place."

A heavy silence fell between us. Neither one of us looked away. My eyes stared straight into his and then, finally, he blinked. "Yeah, man, I'm with you. I want to do my part. And the others, the others Sara said were in the group, they'll fight too, I know they will. Just let me talk to them."

Now Jake decided to be the leader again. "Good. But remember, they don't know any more than you did before Sara spilled the beans. Talk to them, tell them what's going on and then we need to get moving. Just one more thing. You can't leave here. Ever."

It was obvious James hadn't heard that he would be healed once he morphed. His face was scrunched up in confusion. "Not leave here? What do you expect me to do, come live with you guys? I'd have to get my medicine somehow. I know I can't leave here."

And now Tobias decided to speak up. Of course, they all let Marco the Mighty do the hard crap and then they sweep in and clean up. Of course.

((No, James. If your injuries are not something you were born with, something in your DNA, than morphing will heal you. And we know, from…from past experiences, that it will heal you. You will be healthy, whole. But you can't leave this hospital. You understand?))

James just stared at the talking hawk. "I'll be healed?"

Ok, now this kid was grinding my nerves and dumb. I rolled my eyes. "Yep. Bird-boy got it right in one. You won't have to be in a wheelchair. You won't have to take medicine. But you'll still need to be in a wheelchair. You'll still take medicine. To keep the secret of you guys safe, you have to promise that you will continue a charade. Can you do that?"

He nodded. "I can. And I will. What do we do first?"

Jake. "First, we talk to Collette, Kelly and Timmy. Then we go get you guys some seriously bad morphs."

James went out into the hallway and got Collette, Kelly and Timmy to come into his room. Then, very calmly, he explained the whole Yeerk, parasite, taking over your mind thing. At first they didn't believe him. Kelly was the most disbelieving of them all.

"Yeah, right, James. Don't you think we would have heard about this? We might be crippled, we might be disabled but we can watch the news. I'm pretty sure Regis and Kelly would have said something about it. Game's over." Kelly turned to go but seemed surprised when neither Collette or Timmy followed her. "Guys. Come on. You don't believe him, do you?"

Collette looked at me, not Kelly. Her expression was troubled. "I almost…I almost feel as if I know you. But…that's impossible. How would I know you? I know that I've never met you before." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And…sometimes, at night, I dream about being a crocodile. Just like you said. But how is that possible? Turning into animals? That's crazy."

I glanced at Jake. We hadn't told them about the do-over. Jake shook his head and I sighed. Can't make it easy, can you, big Jake? Instead, I did the same thing Jake was doing. I started to morph. But not to gorilla. I'd been gorilla enough in the past two days to make me never want to be a gorilla again. Instead, I morphed to one of my other favorite morphs, wolf.

My nose pushed out into the long snout of a wolf and yellow, jagged teeth filled my mouth. One of my eyes turned yellow and then the other. My knees reversed direction and I fell forward onto all fours. A few seconds later, the changes were complete. I rolled one eye sideways to see Jake in tiger morph. Tobias fluttered over and landed on the floor between us. A gasp drew my attention back to the three newbs.

((It's okay. It's still us. Just…not really. Jake's a tiger. I'm a wolf. And this hawk is Tobias, another one of us. We really do turn into animals. And we really do need your help.))

That seemed to convince them fairly quickly. After that, it was merely a matter of getting them all to acquire Tobias and then they set off for the Gardens. I remembered the first time we did this, the first go-round. It was nearly the same.

((Blithering Baboons Bolster Bunnies. Blithering Baboons Bolster Bunnies.)) Timmy's thought-speak was ecstatic. ((Can you imagine having a splendid vocabulary and a speech disorder?))

We flew at different levels in the sky, not wanting to draw attention to six red-tailed hawks, a peregrine falcon and an osprey hanging out like at your local bird convention. Tobias flew the highest, as the most skilled, keeping watch. It didn't take us long to get to the Gardens but when we got there, we weren't alone.

Two wolves awaited us at the entrance. Tobias, of course, saw them first and quickly alerted Jake. ((Jake! There are two wolves at the entrance to the zoo. What do we do?))

Jake responded with only the barest hint of hesitation. ((James, you and your people wait up here. Tobias, land out of sight and go Hork-Bajir. Marco, you and I, straight at them.))

It occurred to me that Jake might be overreacting. So I tried, as nicely as I could, to suggest this to him. ((Ummm, Jake, buddy, don't you think that's probably Cassie and Rachel or Ax? I mean, the Yeerks don't have the morphing power. And normal wolves don't hang out at zoos. I think you might be looking at this the wrong way.))

But Jake didn't want to hear it. ((Tobias, now. Marco, with me or do I need to take Sara instead?))

I almost shot up beneath him and raked his belly with my talons. He was getting on my nerves too. But I didn't. ((Fine. Let's go.))

Tobias peeled off from the rest of us and swooped below the trees. I could see his talons growing bigger even as he disappeared from view. Then Jake and I began our descent and I did the only sensible thing I could do.

((Hey, wolvsies, down there. Rach? Ax? Cassie? That one of you guys?)) I directed my thought-speak so that only the wolves would hear. Jake wouldn't know what I was doing.

((It's Ax and Rachel, Marco. Where are you?)) Rachel's thought-speak echoed in my head.

_Great_. ((Ummm, well, Tobias is about to come out of the woods all Hork-Bajir on you and Jake and I are speeding towards you from the air. Get ready.))

I ignored Rachel's exclamations and yelled at Jake, ((Jake! That's Rachel and Ax! Back off!))

Too late. He reached the wolves at about the same time as Tobias leapt from the woods, fully Salad Shooter. Rachel and Ax twisted away but not fast enough. Jake's talons raked Rachel's side.

((Whoa! Jake! What is the big deal?)) Rachel shouted. She was not happy. At hearing her wide-band thought-speak, Jake lost focus and crash-landed in the dirt.

((Rachel? What's going on? Why are you guys here?)) Then, he seemed to arrive at the same conclusion I had. ((Did something happen at the valley?))

Rachel laughed in my head. ((No, nothing. I just had a feeling and so we came to find you.))

Tobias was already demorphing and so was Jake. Before I did, I projected my thought-speak to include James and the others. ((You guys can come on down here now. Let's get this party started.))

((Prince Jake, I believe I will stay in this form. It might not do to be seen in my natural body if we should stumble on real humans.)) The wolf I assumed was Ax cocked its head sideways and looked at the half human-half bird.

I was demorphing too but just then James and the others landed. Jake walked over to the flock of hawks. "Okay guys, this is it. Morphing might heal your body if it was injured in an accident or something but the problem is that it's probably not going to happen. So you'll be vulnerable while in your human bodies. But Marco, Tobias and our friend Rachel and I will help you into the cages to acquire the animals. Ready? Ok. Demorph."

Tobias was morphing to human even as Rachel's long blonde hair grew from her wolfy scalp. Then, we stood and watched the five new Animorphs demorph. It happened much as it had the first time. Rachel nor Tobias had been there to see the first demorph the first time around and, from the looks on their faces, they weren't too thrilled about seeing these poor, defenseless kids demorph this time either.

Finally, though, four of the five lay gasping on the ground. But not James. Just as we knew would happen, he stood above the rest, whole. Healthy. Strong. The rest of them, though, were weak and lay on the ground

With a lot of effort, we were each able to help one of the disabled Animorphs into the zoo. James and Timmy. Rachel and Kelly. Me and Sara. And Tobias helped Collette. We started at the big animal cages. I thought I knew how it would go but I ended up being wrong. None of the morphs were the same, with the exception of two.

James chose the lion as his battle morph. I didn't worry so much this time; I knew the guy wasn't going to turn out to be another David. James was a little wary at first of going into the lion enclosure but Ax went with him. Something about the wolf scared the lion or maybe we just got lucky. Either way, James acquired the lion and we headed on around the zoo. Collette acquired a cheetah as her battle morph and Kelly acquired a lioness. Then we almost had an issue with Timmy. He wanted to acquire a tiger, like Jake's morph. So James and Tobias and he headed into the enclosure.

They spotted the tiger right off but didn't know what we knew – there are two tigers in there. So while Timmy's acquiring the tiger and Tobias and James are holding him up, this other tiger comes busting up from the trees, intent on acquiring Timmy's and Tobias' and James' butts for dinner! There wasn't even any time to yell or anything like that.

I almost covered my eyes. It was over, I knew that. I started composing obituaries in my head. But I didn't count Ax into the equation. He leapt over the fence and dropped between the angry tiger and the three humans. And then, he held the tiger's attention until the three of them got out and then he hauled his own furry butt out of there.

After that, we didn't have any mishaps while Sara reacquired her jaguar. Then we headed out. I was very excited to be leaving.

We almost made it.


	14. The Fight

The first thing I noticed was Ax's fur bristling. His neck fur stood out in a spiky ring around his head. Then I saw that his teeth were bared and his wolf lips curled back to expose his canines. No one else seemed to feel anything out of the ordinary. But this was not normal behavior for the Ax-man. There was something up.

"What is it, Ax?" I leaned down to whisper in his ear. I guess maybe I took him by surprise because he whipped his head around and growled at me. "Whoa! Easy. What's the big deal?"

((There are other humans here. I can smell them. And…I can hear them. They are just around this corner, Marco. Talking about…talking about the supposed Andalite bandits.)) Ax's yellow eyes pierced mine and my heart sank. We were screwed if there were Yeerks here. So screwed.

"Guys!" I hissed. "Stop!"

Everyone actually listened surprisingly enough and came to a stop. Jake whipped his head around to look at me. "What, Marco? What is your deal?"

I brought my finger to my lips and scowled. "Shut up! Ax says there are Controllers just around the corner."

Rachel pierced me with one of her yellow eyes. ((We can't hope to beat them, Marco. Not if we're trying to protect James and his guys. Go. Ax and I'll cover your retreat.))

Not exactly the plan I had in mind. I saw Tobias was already going Hork-Bajir. "Ax, how many?" I whispered. Shot a glance at the newbies. They were about to freak, I could tell. Timmy's eyes were darting this way and that. James kept balling and unballing his fists. Kelly and Collette were having a whispered conversation.

He cocked his head. ((I count at least six voices. Maybe more. And I smell Hork-Bajir, or at least the wolf nose smells something alien. And they are coming this way. We are in big trouble. Prince Jake, what do we do?))

Jake hesitated. He freakin' hesitated. Faced with Controllers and maybe Hork-Bajir, he froze. Just didn't move. That's when I knew that he wasn't up to making the split-second decisions anymore.

But James was. James, who had no clue what was going on, James who hadn't even known what a Yeerk was a few hours ago, stepped up to the plate.

"We'll fight our way out, of course. Isn't that why we just acquired those animals with teeth and claws?" He didn't wait for a response but turned to his team. "Ok guys, we knew this time would come when we said yes. Not necessarily this soon, but we knew it would come. So what you need to do is morph your battle morphs. We've fought all our lives for our rights and now we're going to fight for our freedom. So let's do it."

((Wait.)) Ax was demorphing as fast as he could. ((Timmy, would you wait just for a moment?))

Collette already had black streaks stretching across her face. Tawny fur rippled its way down Kelly's back. Black spots popped out all across Sara's body. James' hair shot out in a furry halo all around his head. But Timmy wasn't morphing yet. Instead, he waited as Ax resumed his Andalite form and approached him.

I morphed to gorilla as Jake went tiger. He still kept silent and I didn't really know what to make of that. The guy was getting more and more moody each day. To my surprise, Rachel stayed wolf. Tobias was fully Hork-Bajir.

((Please, if you would, acquire and morph me. That way, they will see another Andalite and they will think there are more of us.)) Ax held out a hand to Timmy. After a split-second hesitation, Timmy took it.

The gorilla's hearing was a bit better than my human hearing and now I could hear voices just around the corner. As Ax got a dreamy look on his face, I cocked my head and listened.

"Are you sure they are here, Esplin 7863? If you are wrong, Visser One will have our heads. And not peacefully, either." The first voice was rough and masculine.

"The so-called Andalite bandits are here, Sub-Visser 71, I promise you that. If you would like, call out the Hork-Bajir. We didn't bring fifty of them here for nothing. There's no one else here that's not one of us. Our guards at the gates haven't reported anything; we know they're still here. This is our chance." The second voice was female but hard and completely unfeeling.

I looked around. An Andalite tail stuck out of Timmy's butt and blue fur covered his body. He was morphing as fast as he could. All around me was a small, bizarre zoo. Grizzly. Tiger. Lion. Wolf. Big bladed alien. Blue aliens. Jaguar. Cheetah. Lioness. And me. Big Jim.

((We can't win this,)) I thought-spoke urgently. ((Jake, there's no way that the twelve of us can whup up on fifty Hork-Bajir and who knows how many human Controllers.))

Jake shifted his weight to his back paws and looked at me. ((We can't escape either, Marco. Not with the exits guarded and who knows what else. Fighting our way out is the _only_ way out.))

((This is IN-sane. Nuts. We could at least morph small and hide out.)) I muttered.

((Not exactly. All I can morph is a bird and a lion.)) James padded up behind me. I turned to look at him and found his teeth inches from my face.

((Yaah!)) I recoiled from the fangs. ((Geez, James, thanks a lot. I just peed my gorilla pants.))

((Prince Jake, they are getting closer. If we are going to fight, we had better do it soon.)) Ax and an Andalite that looked suspiciously like him, but with shorter fur and twitchy eye-stalks stood closest to where we'd heard the humans. Ax had his tail cocked over his back and his eye-stalks pointed at us.

((Let's do it.)) Rachel. Of course.

I looked at James. ((When she says that, it means we're about to get our butts kicked. But that's never stopped us from doing insane stuff before. Why should this time be any different?))

((We head for the front gates, all possible speed. James, you and your people let us fight, if you can. Whatever happens, keep moving. No. Matter. What.)) Jake turned his orange and white face to look at each of us in turn.

((I'd just like to remind everyone of how in-SANE this is. Just one more time.)) I whispered. Rachel smacked me. Hard. ((Hey! Ouch. Jerk.))

Rachel lowered herself to all four paws. ((Let's do it,)) she said again. Really, isn't one time crazy enough?

((I swear, if I had a dollar for every time you said that, I'd be a rich man. Very rich. I could probably buy an army to fight for me. Or a supermodel.)) Pre-battle banter always makes me feel at ease.

((Or a girlfriend.)) Rachel bared her grizzly teeth at me.

((Ooooh, through the heart, Xena.))

((Marco? Shut up.))

Tobias interrupted. ((We should pair up. Old Animorph with new. Just in case we get separated.))

His idea was met with approval and we quickly, silently paired off.

Jake and James. Tawny lion beside lithe tiger.

Rachel and Collette. Silent, deadly wolf crouching beside sleek cheetah.

Me and Sarah. Big-fisted gorilla and silent jaguar.

Ax and Kelly. Extremely alert Andalite and swift lioness.

Tobias and Timmy. Bladed hobgoblin and ragged-furred Andalite.

Before we moved out, Ax sliced the tip off of Tobias' forehead blade so we'd be able to tell him from the enemy Hork-Bajir.

((Let's move.)) Jake leapt into a loping run, James keeping pace right beside him. Rachel and Collette raced behind them. The rest of us followed.

We burst from the bushes and surprised three human-Controllers and two Hork-Bajir.

"Andalites!" the pudgy man in front yelled. His hand went into his pocket, presumably to grab a Dracon gun. Jake bounded forward and sank his teeth into the man's shoulder. James bowled over the woman beside him while Rachel smacked a paw across the face of the last guy. Ax and Tobias had taken down the two Hork-Bajir. Ax was bleeding from a gash on his shoulder.

((Keep going!)) Jake yelled. The ten of us charged across the open plaza.

((Great, here they come!)) I yelled.

At least ten Hork-Bajir raced towards us from all sides. My feet pounded the pavement. I let my knuckles drag the ground and used my powerful arms to propel myself forward. Sara's tail whipped across my face. We were closing with the aliens. I could see the light from a streetlamp glinting off some of their blades. Their giant taloned feet clacked on the pavement. Ax increased his speed so that he reached the Hork-Bajir full seconds ahead of the rest of us.

FWAP! FWAP FWAP FWAP! Ax's tail snapped through the air, slicing into one Hork-Bajir after the other. Tobias leapt over Ax's back and landed, feet spread, and punched an attacker in the gut. Rachel, with her powerful wolf teeth, ripped out two alien hearts and moved on. I slammed a piledriver fist into the face of a Hork-Bajir.

But the aliens weren't going down. The ones Ax hit were getting injured, sure, but they were still fighting. Tobias and his opponent were locked into an equal match, neither one gaining an inch. Rachel was backed against a wall. My Hork-Bajir was reeling but he still managed to slice me across the chest.

But now Jake was in the battle. Jake let loose with his tiger's roar and the ground shuddered. I kneed an alien in the gut and he went down. Tobias sank his wrist blades into another Hork-Bajir. The Auxiliary Animorphs were still racing for the gate when I saw the one creature that always scared the crap out of me. Always. Even if it was in a nightmare.

((Jake! Visser One!))

No sooner had my thought-speak shout left my brain than Visser One was among the Auxiliary Animorphs, slashing with his Andalite tail. Several more Hork-Bajir-Controllers waded in right alongside him. _Why doesn't he morph?_ I punched my way past two more Hork-Bajir and ran to help fight the Andalite-Controller. Ax was right beside me, leaving Jake, Rachel and Tobias to finish the Hork-Bajir or die trying. But we had to help the Auxiliaries. We couldn't leave them to face Visser One on their own.

Ax danced nimbly in between Jake and Visser One and the two Andalites fell into a ferocious tail-fight. I wrapped my huge arms around a Hork-Bajir fighting Collette and yanked him backwards than impaled him on his own tail blades.

((Thanks!)) Collette shouted, turned and sank her teeth into the flank of another Hork-Bajir harassing Timmy.

((No problem. I'll put it on your tab.)) Turning, I caught a glimpse of Rachel falling under three Hork-Bajir. Her wolfish howl echoed in the plaza. And then I saw what made my blood run cold.

A horde of Hork-Bajir approached the fight. Must be twenty, thirty of them. All with wrist blades and elbow blades raised, ready for battle.

((We need to scram!)) I yelled and turned to find my way blocked by Visser One.

((You will never get past all of my Hork-Bajir guards.)) he taunted. I saw Ax, behind him, struggling to get up.

And then the strangest thing happened. The new group of Hork-Bajir started slicing and dicing the other Hork-Bajir. Another wolf bounded out of the darkness and leapt onto Visser One's back.

((Cassie?))

((Sure ain't the Easter Bunny! Now go, run, get outta here!)) Cassie responded and launched herself off Visser One before circling around for another attack.

You didn't need to tell me twice. ((James, Timmy, guys, come on, follow me!)) I loped away from the battle and towards the front gate, bowling over the two human-Controllers foolish enough to get in my way. Timmy, James, Collette and Kelly followed.

We reached the gate with no more problems since the others were busy holding off the main attack force of Hork-Bajir. Only Sara wasn't with us.

I rounded on James. ((Where's Sara?))

((She stayed to fight.)) he replied testily.

And, knowing that the best thing I could do right then was get the Auxiliaries away from the Gardens, preserve at least some of the team to fight another day, I led the way out into the night, not knowing if my friends were alive or dead.

**Author's Note: Whew. Looooooooooooong hiatus. But I'm back, hopefully. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


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